


My name is human

by whump_tr0pes



Series: David & Nia [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Beating, Death Threats, Dissociation, F/M, Fluff, Gang Rape, Handcuffs, Heavy Angst, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Interrogation, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Partners to Lovers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ransom, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rescue Missions, Strangulation, Torture, Waterboarding, Whump, Whump Without Plot, drugged kidnapping, snarky whumpee, stress positions, whumptober2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-08 17:57:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 27
Words: 28,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20839661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whump_tr0pes/pseuds/whump_tr0pes
Summary: When David wakes to the sound of Graylan's voice telling him he has captured Nia, his world turns upside down. David has 24 hours to rescue the woman he loves from torture and death. David rushes to get to her in time -- and Nia tries to hold on to secrets even David doesn't know.





	1. Shaky Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, this one gets dark. The rape/non con doesn't come in until about day 10 and I'll give warning beforehand, but things really don't let up until the end of the month. Strap in.

The phone rang.

David groaned. _Who the hell is calling at 2:30 in the morning?_ He had to answer it. _Might be the office_. Who knows how many calls he’d gotten at some ungodly hour of the night about some “special mission.”

_“Special mission,” my ass_, he thought. _Their definition of “special mission” is something no one but Nia and I can do. And every time we have one of these missions,_ he continued with his mental rant, _Nia ends up in the hospital and then the “on leave for injuries” list. I’m sick of wondering whether she’ll survive each mission._

All this ran through his head in the five seconds before he answered the phone. When he answered it, and that voice spoke in his ear, the entire world was upended.

“Hello, Lee.”

“_Graylan?_”

“Yes, astute as usual,” came the snide reply. “Yes, I survived the fire. It was a nice trick.”

David’s hands began to shake so badly he almost dropped the phone. “What do you want?”

“I figured I’d give ransom another try.”

“You didn’t figure it out the first time?” David growled. “You failed. You won’t get to us this time.”

“I already have.”

A cold wave hit David squarely in the stomach. “What do you mean?”

“We have Nia.”

Terror bolted through David. “No you don’t,” he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

“Wrong again, Lee. We have her right here.” Graylan’s voice grew fainter, as if turning to someone. “Is there something you’d like to say to David, Nia?”

Silence on the line.

“How brave. She’s keeping quiet so you will think we’re lying. She still has two weeks until her diaphragm is healed enough for her to begin reconditioning for field duty, correct? Carson, if you hit her…here, that ought to get a response out of her. Do it.”

There was a muffled thud and a strangled sob on the line. David’s face drained of all color. It was Nia alright, trying to save his life again.

Another thud and another scream, this one more drawn out.

Sweat beaded on David’s forehead. “_Stop!_” He shouted into the phone, trying not to drop it as his hands shook violently. “Damn it, _stop! _What do you want? I’ll make sure it’s done. Just stop.”

“I want two million American dollars, consecutive bills.”

“Fine.”

“Hurry, Lee. I’m not a patient man and I don’t want your team to get any ideas for a grand rescue. So I’m giving you 24 hours to deliver the money. If I don’t have the money in 24 hours, I’m shooting your partner to death where she sits and throwing her into a shallow grave. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes. Just tell me what to do.”

“Deliver the money in cash to the address I sent to your email.”

David paled again. “My…email?”

“Yes. And hurry. Like I said, I am not a patient man. For every hour you delay, Nia will pay in blood.”

Another thud, another choked cry.

“Fuck you, Graylan,” came David’s voice in a growl. “I will find you and kill you myself. Everything you do to her I will double on you and when you beg me to kill you, I will – ”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Graylan said. “Nia will pay for that threat. And if you wage any attempt on a rescue, we will kill you. Both of you.”

“You won’t kill me, and I _will_ find her.”

“Who knows, Lee?” came the reply. “Without Nia around to take the bullets for you, your luck might just run out.”

With a click, the line went dead.


	2. Gunpoint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was Nia feeling as David heard it over the phone?

_This can’t be happening. Not again._ She felt the handcuffs cutting into her wrists, shackled far too tight. Her arms felt twisted behind her. Her head spun sickeningly. _I’ve been drugged_. Doing her best not to panic, she did a quick survey of her body. _I’m lying on the floor. It feels like linoleum. It’s cold. I don’t feel any injuries. I’m only bound by my wrists. I’m still wearing the clothes I was wearing when I drove home from work._

Her eyes fluttered open. The room was dim, lit only by the light coming in through the open door. She heard voices. Some familiar. _Where have I heard that voice before?_ She cast her eyes around the room, but it was still too dark to see much of anything. There didn’t seem to be anyone else in the room. The voices were coming from outside.

One voice spoke above the other. “Once we’re done here, we won’t even need the money. They’ll both be dead and I’ll have what I need. Their operation will be leveled and we’ll move on from there.”

_Graylan._

Fear twisted her stomach. _If Graylan’s alive, he knows. He knows I know something._ It was starting to make sense. _That’s why he took me. He needs to know what I know._ She swallowed as she felt the bile rise in her throat. _They have to know by now I’m missing. I just have to hold on to give them time._ The longer she could last without breaking, the longer her people would have time to mobilize. Erase their tracks. Make any intel she provided ultimately useless. _I won’t give him anything_.

“Let’s start the clock.”

Two men entered the room and the lights blazed on.

Nia blinked, willing her eyes to adjust quicker. She recognized both the men from her first mission. _Graylan and Carson._ She didn’t say anything as Carson approached her and wrenched her up by her arms. He dragged her to a chair near the middle of the room and hurled her against it. He yanked her arms up and back over the back of the chair. Satisfied, he retreated to stand to one side.

For a moment everyone was silent. Nia pressed her lips together as she held Graylan’s gaze. Graylan’s lips quirked into a smile and he closed the distance between them. Nia pulled nervously at the cuffs on her wrists. _No matter what happens, this is going to hurt._

“Hello, Nia.”

She thrust her chin at him defiantly.

“Depending on how long you’ve been awake, you might already know why you’re here.” He reached out and touched her face. She snapped her head out of reach of his hands, but he grabbed her face again and held her chin tightly. “Can you guess?”

_Maybe I should keep him talking._ “You gonna try to ransom me again?”

He smiled again. “That’s part of the plan, sure. But I’d like to offer you a choice. Sounds like you’ve been through the wringer these past few months. You can decide: you or David? If you’re tapped out, just let me know and you two can trade places.”

She said nothing. She refused to play his game. He was dangling what he thought was a carrot, but she wouldn’t respond. _If I told him to leave me alone, take David, torture him, _kill_ him probably, he would kill me anyway._

“Come on, Nia,” Graylan mocked. He thrust his face at her until he was inches away. “You or David?”

She kept her mouth shut.

Suddenly his hand was a fist in her hair, forcing her head back so her throat was bared to him. “_You or David?”_ he hissed through his teeth. “Answer me. _You or David.”_

She could barely get the words out, her throat was so constricted with fear. “Not David.” That’s all it was. Not necessarily “kill me,” just “don’t kill David.” Not David.

Graylan’s hand continued to force her head back until she considered he might break her neck that way. “That wasn’t an answer,” he said through gritted teeth. “You. Or. David.”

The tears starting already she whispered, “me.”

Graylan released her. Just as her neck relaxed, the back of his fist smashed against her cheekbone. She could feel it bruise immediately. She sobbed quietly as Graylan turned to Carson.

“Make the call.”

Carson pulled out a small burner phone. Dialing David’s home phone number as she watched, he pressed a button to put the conversation on speakerphone and passed the phone to Graylan. The sound of the buzzing ring filled the small room.

Abruptly David answered the phone, sounding groggy. “Hello?” _What time is it?_

The sound of his voice made her heart swell with hope. _David. My David._ She wanted to scream to him, beg him to help her. She wouldn’t let herself do it. If David knew she was hurt and frightened, he would rush to help her all the faster. Then Graylan would kill him. _Please, David. For once do the right thing, and live. Do the right thing and let me die so you can survive._

Graylan stared at her and smiled as he spoke. “Hello, Lee.”

“Graylan?” The astonishment – and the fear – was obvious in David’s voice, even over the phone.

“Yes, astute as usual,” Graylan sneered, appearing to enjoy her reaction to David’s voice. “Yes, I survived the fire. It was a nice trick.”

“What do you want?”

“I figured I’d give ransom another try.”

“You didn’t figure it out the first time?” She heard the rage, the hate. “You failed. You won’t get to us this time.”

_Oh no, David, you’re wrong. They have me and you’re wrong._

“I already have.” He grinned at her, relishing the moment of terror in David’s silence.

“What do you mean?” David’s voice was shaking. Unsteady and scared.

“We have Nia.” Graylan’s eyes turned once again to her face. He drew his hand through her hair. Roughly, so it hurt.

“No you don’t.” David sounded almost frantic.

“Wrong again, Lee. We have her right here.” Turning to her, Graylan pulled his weapon from its holster and leveled it at her head. “Is there something you’d like to say to David, Nia?”

She knew he wanted her to give herself away with a sound. To beg, cry, something. She clenched her jaw and met Graylan’s gaze as he stared down at her, the corners of his mouth pulling up. She leaned forward in the chair, handcuffs pulling tight against her wrists until she pressed her forehead against the barrel of the gun. “_Do it,_” she mouthed to Graylan. He would have to kill her before she betrayed David. _He can’t die trying to save me if I’m already dead._

A frightening gleam entered Graylan’s eyes. _I’ve given him exactly what he wanted._ Turning slightly back to the phone he said, “How brave. She’s keeping quiet so you will think we are lying.”

All the blood drained from her face as she realized what Graylan was going to do. _He’s going to torture me with David listening_. She prayed she would be able to keep silent.

Graylan continued. “She still has two weeks until her diaphragm is healed enough for her to begin reconditioning for field duty, correct?”

She threw herself against the handcuffs restraining her to the chair, trying desperately to break free. David couldn’t know! He couldn’t know how scared she was, or if she was even there.

Graylan turned to her again. “Carson, if you hit her…” He threw her back against the chair by her hair and pointed to her solar plexus. “…here, that ought to get a response out of her. Do it.”

Carson’s fist flew into her stomach just as she forced all the air she could out of her lungs. If she had no air to scream with, maybe she could save David.

It was no use. Pain ripped through her, starting at her wound and washing over her. She wanted to throw up, or pass out, or die. She felt like she was going to do all three. She could not draw breath for so long, black spots passed in front of her eyes. There was nothing but the pain, the pain of the blow and the pain of not being able to breathe.

Before she could recover, another blow crashed into her stomach. A cry of pain tore out of her lungs, long and tortured, an unbroken scream as agony wracked her body with no reprieve. A different agony washed over her too: the pain of betraying David.

Miles and miles away, far outside the world of her pain, she could hear David’s voice. He was screaming. “Stop! Damn it, stop! What do you want? I’ll make sure it’s done. Just stop.”

For a few seconds, she mercifully lost consciousness. She came back to her senses with Graylan’s voice very close to her ear telling David, “…24 hours, I’m shooting your partner to death where she sits and throwing her into a shallow grave. Do I make myself clear?”

_Yes. Very clear. Please, please kill me now so this pain will go away. So I don’t tell you anything. So David doesn’t die coming to save me. Please just stop this._

She exploded into pain as Carson hit her again, driving another scream out of her lungs, forcing her to betray David one more time. The world disappeared into swirling red, jagged bits of pain mixed with unconsciousness. Distantly she heard David’s voice growling a threat to Graylan. _Don’t._ The world tilted as she almost fell from the chair. Carson grabbed her collar and forced her upright. _God, I need to breathe._ Graylan was saying something back, but she couldn’t make sense of it. She choked, her chest heaving uselessly. The pain tore at her lungs. _I can breathe, just breathe past it._ She drew in an agonizing gasp. She filled her lungs with air, desperate to make one last plea to David before the line was disconnected.

When she found her voice, she screamed with all that she had in her. “David! _Don’t!!_”

Graylan had already hung up. Her scream was lost to David. It fell only on the uncaring ears of the two men who smiled at the sound.


	3. Dragged Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When she found her voice, she screamed with all that she had in her. “David! Don’t!!”   
Graylan had already hung up. Her scream was lost to David. It fell only on the uncaring ears of the two men who smiled at the sound.

Nia sobbed as each breath sent another wave of fresh agony crashing through her body. 

"David..." she sobbed, "no..." _I was too late. I couldn't speak in time. He's going to die trying to get me. _She gagged as the pain continued to build. _How can I hold on when it already hurts this much?_

She vaguely felt Graylan lean into her, his face only inches away from hers. "Nia," he said with a sardonic tone, "I really need you to focus up here." She continued to gasp, desperately pulling in air. He grasped her hair and slowly pulled her head up until she could see his face swimming sickeningly above hers. 

Graylan paused for a moment before he spoke again. "Nia. I need you to get your shit together and pay attention."

She did her best to slow and quiet her breaths. The pain was fading, slowly. Every breath, every pulsebeat flared in her stomach, but it was fading. _Please, please, please, I need the pain to go away. I have a mission now and I can't let him break me._

Graylan slapped her across the face with his other hand. "Nia," he said, raising his voice. "Get your shit together, for fuck’s sake."

Nia took one long, deep inhale and let it out between pursed lips. "What do you want?" It was painful to get the words out. 

"I think you know."

_Yup. I do._ "I don't. I don't know what you're talking about. Was it the servers? I'm sorry we -"

He slapped her across the face, harder this time. "You know that's not what I'm talking about. Try again."

"I don't _know!_" she pleaded. 

With a sigh, Graylan let go of her hair and stepped away from her. "Look. I'm trying to save both of us a lot of hassle." He surveyed her breathing. "You can make this a lot easier on yourself if you just work with me here."

"You want money? You want David? I don't know what you're talking about, Graylan." _Oh god oh god, keep him talking._

Graylan moved closer, a cold half-smile on his face. "Like I told David, I have 24 hours with you. I guarantee you cannot play dumb for that long." 

Nia pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling. "Please," she whispered. "Just tell me what you want."

Graylan's face grew darker. "Now that's a side of Nia Callum I've never seen before. It's always been about business between us but...god _damn_ I like it when you beg."

_Oh, shit._

He took a step closer. "Here's what I want. I want your agency to be so busy, so distraught with trying to find you, that they don't stop to think about the fact that this plan doesn't make any sense. Why would I risk my resources to infiltrate your headquarters to place a sedative in your waterbottle?"

Nia paled. _He has men in the agency?_

"Why would I send men to your home to take you when you were too drugged to fight back? Why would I take you here and call your partner, who is undoubtedly trying to find you as we speak? It's pretty simple. David needed a distraction and your agency needed a reason. I doubt they'll question it. "

She swallowed. 

Graylan bent down until Nia could feel his breath on her face. "I don't really care about the ransom. You're here -" His mouth widened into a terrifying grin. "- because I want you to tell me everything you know about Operation Nightshade."

She lunged off of the chair and cracked her head against Graylan's face. 

Graylan reeled back as his hands flew to his face. The chair flew out from behind Nia as she leapt to her feet. She threw a kick at Graylan's stomach and it connected. He grunted and fell back another step. She dashed for the doorway. 

Just as she cleared it she felt an iron grip clamp down on the handcuffs still on her wrists. Carson dragged her backwards into the room and threw her against the floor. The impact knocked the breath out of her. She saw black spots floating in front of her eyes as she tried to get up. Carson grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her away from the doorway. His hand tangled in her hair as he wrenched her upright, forcing her to her knees. He wrapped his arm around her neck and squeezed. She felt the pressure and stiffened. 

"Ok, I deserved that," Graylan said as he straightened. His nose was intact, although his cheek looked red and swollen. "That was a pretty good shot." He kneeled in front of her. She tried to wrench herself away from Carson's grasp. His arm tightened around her throat. As her airway began to constrict she panicked, yanking uselessly at the handcuffs.

Graylan sighed, looking amused. "Ok. Hard way it is." He glanced up at Carson and nodded as he drew himself up to his feet.


	4. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graylan sighed, looking amused. "Ok. Hard way it is." He glanced up at Carson and nodded as he drew himself up to his feet.

Carson dragged Nia a few steps farther into the room, almost against the back wall. He forced her to her knees again, pulling another set of handcuffs from a pocket. Nia felt him click one side around the chain between her wrists. The other he tightened around an anchor bolted into the floor she hadn’t noticed before. He stalked out of the room without a word.

Graylan watched her cooly. “I’d really recommend you start talking right now.”

“Start talking about what?” Nia’s voice shook.

Graylan rolled his eyes. “I’m wondering how you think this is going to go for you. I’m going to start hurting you and you are going to break. It doesn’t really matter when, because I’m very confident you’ll break long before we’ve been here for two hours, let alone 24. Do you think David is coming for you? Do you really think he’s going to get you out?”

Her jaw tightened. “You made a call. It doesn’t matter that it was a burner phone. It’s still traceable and whether it’s David or someone else, yeah, I think someone’s coming for me.” _Shut up, you idiot._

Graylan laughed. “Wow, I hadn’t thought of that! Damn. My plan is blown. What a waste of fucking time.” He smacked his forehead. “I’m hurt by your lack of confidence in me. I used wi-fi calling and installed a VPN service. Yeah, they probably are tracking me, but to the wrong location.”

She felt like a bucket of cold water had been turned over in her stomach. That call was the only lifeline she had. If it wasn’t traceable…she had no hope of anyone finding her again. They would find her body. _Ok. At least I know now. I’m not getting out of here alive._ She felt her throat burn with tears for just a moment. _I want to see David again._ She didn’t feel selfish wanting it, now that she knew he would never find her in time. If there was no hope at all of being rescued, she knew her mission. _Hang on until I can’t._

“You look upset.” Graylan pouted his lips.

“Fuck off and die.”

Carson walked back into the room with a duffle bag slung on his shoulder. She didn’t have to wonder what was in it. _They needed an entire bag for their equipment? Christ_.

Graylan took the bag from Carson and set it on the ground next to her. The only thing he took out was a coil of paracord. “Do you know what a stress position is?” he asked her, casually unwinding it.

Nia snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna start me off with some kinky shit, Graylan.”

He laughed. “I should have figured that’s what you would associate it with. No, a stress position is a form of torture that uses the mechanics of the human body against itself. It puts pressure and weight on the body in an unbalanced way.” He dragged the chair next to her and stood on it. She thought about knocking the chair out from under him but she couldn’t lean her body far enough to reach it. He passed the end of the paracord through another anchor loop on the ceiling and stepped down, pulling the two ends down with him. As Nia glanced around she noticed a few more anchors on the walls. “It’s a surprisingly brutal form of torture. I enjoy it because there isn’t a lot of work that goes into it on my end.” Quickly, before Nia realized what he was doing, he tied a loop in one of the ends of the cord. He passed his arm through it, grabbed her hair, and guided the loop off his arm and around her neck. She twisted away from him. “Carson,” he said calmly over his shoulder. “Come help me with this.” Carson pulled the loop so it was snug around her neck and knotted the ends so it couldn’t constrict further.

Graylan took a pause to smile at Nia. Her breaths came in hitched gasps as she tried not to panic. The other end of the cord hung loosely in Graylan’s hand.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here,” Graylan said, “and guess this whole lung injury thing has given you a little PTSD around not being able to breathe.”

Her voice sounded hard. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say _most_ people aren’t super comfortable about the idea of not breathing.”

“Huh.” His lips curled up. “Yeah, I figured I was right.” He slowly pulled the cord down.

As the cord tightened around Nia’s neck, she sat straight up as tall as she could. Right before she was able to kneel straight up, her wrists jerked against the handcuffs. She gasped as she realized she couldn’t straighten her hips. Immediately she felt the strain down the front of her legs. Graylan continued to pull the cord down. She felt it begin to pull tight around her throat, constricting her airway. She whimpered.

Graylan’s hand paused. “Should I stop?”

She couldn’t nod, it would make it tighter. “Please,” she choked.

“Ok. Tell me about Operation Nightshade.”

Tears pricked her eyes. She closed them and two tears ran down her cheeks. “Please,” she said again.

“Wrong answer.” He pulled the cord tighter.

As the loop tightened more, a high whine began in her throat. She strained her neck up as high as she could, trying desperately to make a little slack in the cord. Her shoulders screamed in protest. The cuffs cut into her wrists. Her legs were already beginning to spasm. Her chest heaved in terrified gasps. _I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe no no no no no no no no no._

“Had enough? Should I let you go?” He toyed with the remaining coil.

Nia ground her teeth together with the effort of keeping the words inside. _I know about Operation Nightshade let me go I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe._

Graylan puffed an exhale from between his lips. “Ok. Looks like we might be here a while.”

He stooped to run the loose end of the cord through the anchor on the floor. Pulling tight to make sure he hadn’t allowed any slack, he tied the cord and stepped back to admire how she looked.

Her breath was coming in choked gasps. She gagged over and over, straining every muscle, trying to find some way to give herself the slack she needed to breathe. Her eyes were wide with panic. Tears poured down her face, dripping off the cord and her shirt onto the floor.

Graylan moved the chair so its back was directly in front of Nia and sat, resting his forearms on the back of the chair. He let her choke for a few more minutes before he spoke.

“I want you to know,” he said smoothly, “how alone you are right now. Carson is with me for this but everyone else I have on the perimeter. There isn’t a single other person in this building. There isn’t anyone on your team, or in your agency, or on your side who knows where you are. There’s no chance of anyone stumbling across this place either. We are completely isolated. I have 24 hours…” He paused as a smile spread over his face. “…to do anything I want to you. And this is probably going to be the least pain you will ever be in again until I kill you.”

Nia fought for every breath. _I can’t break I can’t break I can’t breathe I can’t breathe._ The words took on an almost meditative quality. She willingly let her mind follow the rhythmic repetition of the words. _I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe._

Graylan looked at his watch. “It’s only been…about 30 minutes since I started the clock. You are going to die from this long before the 24 hours is up and honestly…there are a few more things I wanted to do. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this plan during my recovery.” He rolled up his left sleeve. The skin on his left arm was puckered and streaked with scars from the fire. Nia couldn’t see it. Her eyes were fixed on the wall behind him, wild and unfocused.

He sighed. “Ok.” He stood up from the chair and kneeled right in front her. “I’ll make you a deal. If you tell me you’ve heard of Operation Nightshade, I’ll stop this. I’ll let you breathe. Does that sound good?” Her lips were taking on a blue tinge. “Come on Nia, if you pass out you’re gonna wake up in the exact same position. This is not going to get better unless you give me something. Do you know what Operation Nightshade is?” She was passing less and less air. “Do yourself a favor and give me something to work with, Nia. Have you heard of Operation Nightshade?”

She closed her eyes. Imperceptibly, her lips moved. _Yes_.

“It’s about fucking time.” He drew a knife from his belt and held it to her throat.

_Please kill me_.

He pressed the blade against her skin. She couldn’t feel afraid. She couldn’t breathe.

_Please kill me I can’t breathe._

Blood beaded on the blade. Just before the skin gave way, Graylan looped the serrated edge under the cord and jerked. The cord snapped. Nia collapsed to floor.

She slumped to her side, wrists pulling against the cuffs. She took a shuddering, wheezing gasp and coughed until she thought her throat would tear open. She gulped in the air hungrily and whimpered with every exhale.

_I can’t believe I already broke._


	5. Stab wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David rushes to save Nia

For a split second David was frozen, the receiver suspended in his hand.

_He has Nia. He has Nia._

_He has Nia._

Then there was a flurry of motion. Passport. Sidearm. Money. Everything else would be at headquarters.

He didn’t dare contact the team lead on his cell phone. If they had his home phone number, there’s no telling what else they already had. Maybe a tap on his cell phone. If they heard David making plans to get Nia, they might move her.

They _had_ to know he was coming for her. They had to know nothing would stop him from getting to her.

Three minutes later David was in his car racing to headquarters. “_For every hour you delay, Nia will pay in blood.”_ Those were Graylan’s words. _“Nia will pay in blood.”_ David knew it would get much worse than some well-placed blows. He didn’t know if she could hold on for 24 hours of torture. Nia was tough. She had taken bullets and torture before, but this was different. This was _personal_.

He drove faster. _The call came in at 0237. It’s 0253 now._ As soon as he got the call traced to Graylan, he would be on a plane or car or whatever would take him to where they were keeping her. _Then I’m going to kill him._

He pulled into the agency parking lot. It was almost empty at this time of night. He screeched to a stop just outside the doors, disregarding a parking space. He grabbed his things and burst through the doors. He sprinted to the intelligence office, praying to see someone on the team there. Miraculously, three members of his team were in.

“Smith!” he shouted as soon as he laid eyes on him. “I need a trace on a phone call.”

Smith spun on his chair to his keyboard. “When and where?”

“0237, my home phone. Find the source.”

“On it.” As he typed, he eyed David over the screen as he paced. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Please just do it,” David snapped.

“Ok, ok. Ok…getting it…got it. Oh. Did you get a wifi call?”

“_What?_” David rushed to Smith’s side and stared at the computer screen.

“Yeah, that…” Smith pointed to the record. “That’s a wifi call. And he was using a VPN.”

David’s jaw went slack. “So…what does that mean for tracking?”

“It means it’ll reroute me to another IP address at a different location than the one of the actual call.” Smith regarded David from behind his glasses. “What’s going on, David? What’s this all about?”

David felt like his throat might be closing. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak past the clawing feeling in his throat.

Smith made a leap of intuition. “Where’s Nia?”

The other two people in the room stopped working and turned to look at David.

David closed his eyes. “Graylan got to her.”

“_Got_ to her?!” someone asked incredulously. Stevens. “You mean he has her?” He and the other man, Wilson, stood and gathered around David.

“Yes, he has her,” David moaned. “Graylan wants two million for her.”

Silence.

Wilson spoke up first. “We need to call Tom.”

David turned his eyes to him, desperate. “I don’t know what else Graylan is monitoring. He had my home phone number, for Christ’s sake. If he finds out we contacted Tom he’ll guess that we’re assembling the team…he might move her…” _The team lead needs to know, but…_ He couldn’t think straight. His mind was a wild chaos of terror. He couldn’t think of a plan, couldn’t focus enough to strategize. _Tom is the one with the objectives, the tactics for each mission. He just points me in a direction and I execute the mission._ He felt like he was being stabbed in the chest. He would have preferred a real blade.

“You’re right,” Smith said. “But he’s probably got his pager on him. Let me page him.” He turned away to do it.

Wilson put a steadying hand on David’s shoulder. “David?” David’s eyes snapped to his, wild and helpless. “Do you have a reason to believe Nia needs immediate extraction? We need to know what you know. We need to know our timeframe.”

David turned to Smith as he looked up from his pager, the message away already. “You have access to home phone calls, right?” For once, he was grateful for agency policy for tapping all agents’ home phones. It was for situations exactly like this one.

“Sure thing,” came the quick answer. Smith pulled up the call and David took his seat. David unplugged Smith’s headphones as he skipped forward in the call, finding the spot he wanted. Once he did, Graylan’s chilling voice came over the speakers.

“_I want two million American dollars, consecutive bills_.”

“_Fine_.”

“_Hurry, Lee. I’m not a patient man and I don’t want your team to get any ideas for a grand rescue. So I’m giving you 24 hours to deliver the money. If I don’t have the money in 24 hours, I’m shooting your partner to death where she sits and throwing her into a shallow grave_.”

David paused the recording, his hands shaking.

Wilson spoke up. “Did he provide proof of life?”

David rewound the recording and played it. A muted thud and a tortured sob filled the small room. Everyone flinched along with David.

He raised his eyes to his teammates, barely holding back his frantic tears. “I have to go get her,” he whispered.

“We have some time, right?” said Stevens. “24 hours?”

“No,” David said, doing his best to steady his voice. “Graylan said, ‘for every hour you delay, Nia will pay in blood.’”

There was a sharp intake of breath. “So he’s going to torture her,” Wilson said.

“Yes.” The word was almost a sob.

Smith pulled out his pager and stood, placing his hand on David’s arm. “That’s Tom. He’s enroute, ETA 10 minutes. He wants you to meet him in the briefing room.” He squeezed David’s shoulder.

Numbly David said, “he emailed me the drop location. I’ll forward it to you.”

“We’ll get started on the VPN and the email. Tom will brief us with his objectives once he’s done talking to you. Hey.” He ducked his head to meet David’s gaze as he stared at the floor. “We’ll get our girl back.”

\---

Tom drew his hand across his face. “I agree with your assessment of the situation. Nia requires immediate extraction.”

“Tom,” David said, his voice breaking. “I don’t even know if he intends to return her alive. Something about this situation isn’t right.” He took a steadying breath. “This is a lot of trouble to go to just for a ransom. I think he might -” He gasped as a sob rose in his throat. “He might kill her. He might just be sending a message to us, the ransom might be secondary. I think he -” His breathing hitched and he couldn’t get the words out.

Tom blew out a slow exhale. “I think that assessment is correct, too.” He blinked quickly, trying to hide his own tears. “I want you to prepare for extraction. I’ll have Smith and the rest on those two communications Graylan sent you. I need you – hey.” He put a firm hand on David’s shoulder. “I know how you feel about her. I know how we…” He swallowed hard. “…how we all feel about her. But you need to focus. She needs you now. She needs you in mission mode.” He shook David gently. “Go to tac and medical and get what you need. I want you standing by for the minute we have a firm location.”

David nodded. “Can do.” His eyes were glassy but his voice was hard.

“For now, we communicate by pager. This is why we have them. I’ll alert Meyers in medical. She’ll meet you and help you assemble a med kit.”

“Ok.” David swallowed his tears and straightened up. “Keep me posted.”

\---

David carefully packed the supplies into his kit. He avoided Meyers’ gaze. She seemed to understand and remained cool and business-like with him.

David could still see the overwhelm in her face. He couldn’t stand to see it. It made him think of what would happen if he failed.

“Equipment for vitals, hemostatic gauze, space blanket, multiple trauma dressings, tourniquets, SAM splints, Kerlix, airway kit, 10 gages for chest decompression, IV kit, tubing, morphine,” he listed. He clenched his jaw with the strain of keeping his voice steady. “Could I take lactated ringers? Or would saline be better?”

Meyers made direct eye contact with him. Gently, she said, “blood would be better.”

David felt a knife in his heart again. It tore at him like a real wound.

“I’ve got it prepped already. O-positive, right? Once you get the go-ahead, you can just add it to your kit and you’ll be good to go. Bring a few ice packs to keep it cool. It’s not standard procedure but it’s…” She faltered for just a moment. “It’s Nia.”


	6. Shackled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She slumped to her side, wrists pulling against the cuffs. She took a shuddering, wheezing gasp and coughed until she thought her throat would tear open. She gulped in the air hungrily and whimpered with every exhale. 
> 
> I can’t believe I already broke.

Nia’s vision began to come back into focus as her shuddering breaths eased. _I can’t believe I broke already_. She heaved a sob as her throat closed in shame. _I can’t believe I broke already_.

Graylan kneeled over her as she recovered from the torture. A thin purple line had already appeared on her skin, encircling her throat. He traced it with one finger. She shuddered away from his touch. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“_Fuck_ you,” Nia spat at him, her voice hoarse and strained. Her eyes burned with more tears. _I’m weak. I broke already_.

“I, for one, am pretty happy with the results. Let’s get you up.” Graylan grasped her arm and slowly pulled her up to sitting. He pulled a key out of his pocket and undid the shackles pinning her to the floor. He eased her against the wall, her hands still cuffed behind her. He took a seat back in his chair, facing her.

Her lips trembled as tears rolled down her face. She adjusted her wrists, feeling the handcuffs rub against the deep marks they had made in her skin.

Graylan pursed his lips. “So you _have_ heard of Operation Nightshade.”

She stared at the ground.

“Wanna share the details with the class?”

She pressed her lips together. _You will have to beat every detail out of me._

Graylan shrugged. “Now that I know there’s something about it up there in that brain of yours, you realize this just got a lot worse for you, right?”

Nia shuddered as she raised her eyes to his.

“You realize you have no way to prove it to me when you’ve finally told me everything you know?”

She closed her eyes, sending another stream of tears down her cheeks.

“I guess all I’m trying to say is that I’m pretty excited for what the next – oh – 23ish hours have in store for us. So much to do, so little time…” He grinned at her.

“You keep saying you want to ‘try things’ with me,” Nia snarked. “I can’t be the first lucky girl you’ve taken home for some action.”

Graylan tossed his head and laughed. “No, but I’m looking forward to doing things _with you_.” He rose from his chair and knelt in front of her. He cupped her face and tilted it up. “I’ve never tortured the same person _twice_. You, on the other hand -” His fingers tightened around her jaw. “You evaded me. I only had a few minutes with you, and you managed to throw a massive wrench in my plans during that short time.” He released her face and cuffed her on the chin. “I’ve been looking forward to breaking you for a long time.”

“Well good for you, bud,” she spat at him. “Cross this one off the bucket list.”

He chuckled. “You’re fun.” He turned to Carson. “Let’s get her up. Get the chain.”

Carson reached into the bag and pulled a length of chain and two clasps. He jerked her up to her feet as Graylan unlocked one cuff from around her wrist. She threw her weight against them as he brought her hands around to the front. She didn’t know if it was a good idea to make things difficult for them, but she knew she couldn’t just stand there as they man-handled her. _I have to fight this._

Carson threw a punch at the side of her head and it connected. Her head exploded into pain and she sagged in their arms. Carson wrapped his arm around her throat again and held her as they finished their work.

They quickly snapped the cuffs back onto her wrists. Graylan got back up on the chair and passed the chain through the anchor point in the ceiling. He pulled one end of the paracord and it fell through the loop as he pulled an end of the chain down to where Carson was holding Nia. Graylan snapped a clasp through the last link of the chain and around the handcuffs on her wrists. He passed the other end of the chain to Carson.

He released his hold on Nia’s throat and dragged the end of the chain down. Nia was lifted by her wrists, the cuffs digging into her skin once more. She cried out as the new position put stress on her shoulders and wrists. Carson continued to pull the chain tight until she could only bear weight on her feet if she strained.

“Eh…give her one or two links of slack.” Graylan winked at her. “You deserve it.”

Carson let out a bit of tension on the chain and mercifully released the pressure on her wrists a little. He took the other clasp and clipped the chain to another anchor on the wall. When he was done, he stepped back.

Graylan smirked at the sight of her. He pulled the knife from his belt. “I want to get to know you better,” he said as he took a step towards her.


	7. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graylan smirked at the sight of her. He pulled the knife from his belt. “I want to get to know you better,” he said as he took a step towards her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some non-consensual partial nudity in this chapter, just a heads up. It's not overtly (or even really subtlely) sexual

Nia watched as Graylan drew closer with the blade. She tried not to flinch as he placed his hand gently around her throat. He seemed fascinated by the marks already on her neck. He drew the knife over them, tracing the line with the blade. He flicked his eyes to hers, grinning when he saw the fear there.

“Are you wondering how I’m going to kill you?”

Nia sighed. “This again.”

“Forgive me, it’s been on my mind.” His hand moved to her hair. He snapped her head back, exposing the pulse in her neck. He watched it speed up. He rested the tip of the blade against the skin and watched the knife jump with each beat. “Throw out suggestions if you have any.”

“I’ve always been partial to the whole ‘old age’ routine myself.”

Graylan removed the knife and leaned back, looking at her disapprovingly. “There’s no way you can convince me you honestly believed you were going to get old in this job.”

She swallowed. _I always knew I was going to die with this job. Just not like this._

“Well then tell me how you always _imagined_ going out,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve thought about it.”

“Oh yeah, loads of times. Before I got promoted to the team I got caught in a mission that went sideways. Almost got nailed by a car when the target spooked and ran. I thought I was going to die with David when I first met your sorry ass.” Graylan tipped his head cordially. “Then I thought I was going to die in the fire I started. I thought I was going to die when your people took David and I with them to execute us. I was sure I was going to die when they shot me in the back.” Her breath hitched at the memory. _Why am I telling him all this?_

Watching him as he looked at her, she realized the bizarre intimacy she felt with him. _He is going to take my life. Here in this room._ Death had never been a certainty before. She had always been able to fight, to make it out alive, even if David was carrying her out. Now…it was hopeless and she knew it. She was going to die at his hand. He was going to shoot her in the head or cut her throat or choke the life out of her. He was going to watch the life drain out of her onto the floor. He knew it as well as she did.

Graylan seemed distracted by a mark on her face. As his eyes bored into her, she knew he was staring at a scar on her cheek. “I want to know what I’m working with here,” he said. “Tell me about your scars.”

“My…what?”

“Your scars. I know you have a lot of them. I want to know about how you got them. Let’s start with this one.” His finger stroked the small, star-shaped scar on her cheek.

“That one I got the day you tried to steal that black box.” She tried not to let the memories of the pain invade her mind. “After I started the fire one of your men shot me. As I was reaching for a gun, he missed and hit the floor. A shard of linoleum hit me in the face.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “And this one?” He drew his finger down a thin scar starting just below her ear and running down her neck. She shivered at the touch, her stomach roiling with disgust. _This is better than him hurting me._

“Got held hostage on my first mission as a field agent. He was jumpy and wasn’t very careful with the knife.”

He ran his hand up the length of her left arm from her shoulder. “This?” He ran his fingers over several scars scoring her upper arm.

“Car crash. We had a rapid exfil and they drove our car off the road.”

He touched a region of pocked scars on her forearm. “This?”

“That’s from the explosion I caused.”

He moved his hand to her right wrist and began to draw his hand down towards her elbow. “This one I think I remember,” he said, his fingers pressing into the through-and-through scarring her right forearm like a stigmata. “Carson gave you this one, I think.” Graylan turned to Carson, who was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. His lips jumped into a flash of a smile and he nodded. “I bet that doesn’t help with your savior complex at all.”

Nia’s lip curled. “Hilarious.”

His hand continued down to her shoulder. He caressed the scar there, just below the collarbone. “This one you got from yours truly. You took it like a champ.”

Nia couldn’t suppress that memory. The sound of the shot, the blood dripping on the floor, David’s scream. Despite herself, she whimpered.

“Ooh, sore subject for you?”

“You shot me, you idiot. Yeah, kinda sore about it still.” _I just have to keep him amused. Keep him talking._

His hands traced along the back of her shoulder. “Aha. Here’s the surgery scar from that one.”

Graylan placed his hands on her waist and turned her. She stiffened. Her breath caught in her throat as Graylan pulled the hem of her shirt up, exposing her back. He pressed his knuckle into the now-healed scar just below her shoulder blade. It had healed, she knew, but it still felt tender as he increased the pressure. Her sharp intake of breath hissed between her teeth.

“That was a close one,” he murmured to her. “One inch up and it would have been your heart.”

“Well it ricocheted and took a chunk of my liver, so they did their best I guess. I would send the guys who did it a fruit basket, but they’re all dead.”

Graylan increased the pressure again. “I lose a lot of men whenever you and David are involved. Part of why I think this is only fair.”

She cringed away from the pain. He grabbed her around the waist and drove his knuckle into the scar. She bit down on her lips, trying to swallow the scream building in her chest.

He abruptly pulled his hand away from her back. “Sorry, got side tracked. Where were we?” His hand moved down her back until it reached the waistband of her pants. He paused, seeming to contemplate, before he rolled the waistband down.

Nia began to buck his hands. “No, Graylan,” she pleaded. “No no no…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, relax,” he snapped at her. “I just want to see.” He unbuttoned her pants and pulled them down around her hips.

“No no no no no no no please,” she whimpered. “Stop…please…”

Ignoring her, Graylan moved his hands down her right leg. “Now this is interesting.” He brushed his fingers against the ropey scar puckering the skin right at the top of her leg. “How did this happen?”

She took a shaky gasp. “After the explosion…one of your men…shot me…”

“Right right, you mentioned. Damn, he couldn’t take you in even after this? How did you escape that one?”

“I killed him.”

Graylan looked impressed. “You get an A+ for resiliency. Or he just wasn’t that good.” His hand traveled down her leg as he pulled her pants all the way off. As he yanked them out from under her feet, she stumbled and her weight sagged against the cuffs. “Wow, here’s another one.” He stroked the scar on her calf. He didn’t seem to notice the high whimpers coming from Nia’s throat. “What’s this one from?”

“P…please…”

“Oh my _god_, Nia,” he straightened and struck her across the face. She gasped. “Chill out.”

She wiped her tears on the sleeves of her shirt and tried to compose herself. “It’s from the same man who shot me after the fire…”

“Jesus Christ, he shot you _twice_ and still couldn’t bring you in? _Christ_ that’s embarrassing.” He moved to her left calf. “Another GSW…and more surgery. What’s that all about?”

She gritted her teeth. “Same day I took a bullet to the back. They had to place pins in my leg.”

His hand continued up her leg. Finding nothing else, he stood. “Any that I missed?”

“I’ve got a few from shaving my legs if you wanna dive into those riveting stories, too.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Pass.” He took a step back, his eyes raking her up and down. “I think I can safely say you’ve been shot more times than anyone else I know and lived.”

“Fantastic. Where’s my gold star?”

His lips pulled up into a smile. “You know I’m going to up that number a few times before I kill you today, right?”

She paled.

“Did you forget what the plan is here?”

She swallowed. “I didn’t forget.”

“Great.” He closed the distance between them and drew his knife again. “Tell me about Operation Nightshade.” He placed the tip against her throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...next chapter gets dark. It's the chapter that caused me to tag this with rape/non con. It's explicit and brutal. I'll put up more warnings, but I wanted to give you a heads up.


	8. Humiliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He closed the distance between them and drew his knife again. “Tell me about Operation Nightshade.” He placed the tip against her throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ THIS CONTENT WARNING: this chapter includes explicit rape. I'll have notes at the bottom with a brief summary if you want to skip this chapter.

Nia’s throat tightened at the feel of the blade against her skin. Graylan pressed it up into the soft tissue under her chin. She whimpered, pulling her head back. He grabbed her hair and forced her head down again. She cried out as the knife pierced her skin.

“Operation Nightshade. Tell me about it.”

“_No_,” she spat through gritted teeth.

He drove the tip of the knife further into the skin. Large drops of blood began to drip down the knife. “I can do this all day, Nia.”

She screwed her eyes shut and shook her head against the pressure from his hands.

He removed the knife from under her chin. Before she could see what he was going to do, he raked the tip down the underside of her arm. She twisted away from the pain.

“I want you to consider something, Nia.” He pressed the tip of the knife against her sternum. It parted the skin there easily and he felt the scrape of bone on the blade. “Do you know why I didn’t just strap you down and pump you full of Pentothal? Aside from the very real risk of giving you brain damage before you provide any useful intel, of course.”

She screamed as he flicked the blade out of the small puncture he made on her chest.

“It’s because -” He placed the tip of the knife against her stomach and began to lean into it. “- I don’t want you to just tell me what I need to know. I know I can get that one way or another.” She strained to get away from the knife. “You have been a pain in my ass ever since I learned your name. The only time I ever felt like I had you where I wanted you -” He raised his voice over the sound of her screams. “- was when you were screaming and bleeding in front of me.” He pulled the knife away and held it again to her neck. He grabbed her hair again and forced her head forward. The edge of the blade pressed into her throat. “I need to know everything you know about Operation Nightshade, yeah. But hurting you is just…” He licked his lips. “Just the best perk there is.”

She fought to catch her breath. She groaned as the blade pressed into her skin. She could feel it on the bruises forming from the paracord. “Careful with that,” she whispered. “If you cut my throat you’re fucked.” _Don’t say that!_

He smiled. “You’re right.” He wiped the blood on the blade onto her shirt and tucked it into his belt again. “Remember. If you tell me something about Operation Nightshade, I’ll stop.”

He pulled back his fist and punched her in the stomach.

She wasn’t ready for it. The blow knocked the wind out of her. She stumbled backwards, nearly losing her footing. She would have fallen if she hadn’t been shackled up. Another blow collided with her exposed ribs. She felt a crack as she screamed. Another punch, to her side.

She gasped and retched. “Please,” she heaved.

“Tell me what I want to hear, Nia.” He punched her squarely in the chest. She exploded with pain again.

“P…please...” she begged.

He grabbed her hair and yanked her face close to his. “What is Operation Nightshade.”

“I…I can’t…”

His hand tightened in her hair. “Who else operates within it.”

“No, I…”

“Give me _names_, Nia!” he screamed in her face.

“_Please_.” The word was drawn out into a wail.

Graylan stared at her for a moment. Then his expression changed. His face darkened in a way that frightened Nia as it looked like he made a decision.

He shoved her backwards by her stomach. Her back hit the wall as her wrists strained in the handcuffs, her feet barely touching the ground. He moved his hand to her neck and crushed it against her throat. Her scream was choked off. Eyes streaming, she swung her legs at him, desperately trying to throw him off balance. She twisted her head, trying to throw off his hold on her throat. He punched her in her side again and she went limp for just a moment. With one hand, Graylan tore off her underwear. She tried to scream against the pressure in her throat. _No no no no no!_

He fumbled at the front of his pants with one hand as Nia bucked against the hand at her throat. He threw his weight against her and she shuddered from the pain of her broken ribs hitting the wall.

”_No!_” she screamed. “Graylan, _stop! _Please…” she sobbed. “Please don’t do this.”

He pressed one hand against her hips, bracing her against the wall. He pried her legs apart and lined himself up against her.

“_No no no no NO NO NO! Please!_”

With a grunt he forced himself inside her.

Her entire body shuddered with the shock. She felt as though she had been ripped open. A wordless scream tore from her mouth.

Then he braced her against the wall and began to work his hips into her.

She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t breathe. Her body was wracked with agony as each thrust slammed her into the wall, jarring her broken ribs. She felt her hips bruise against the wall with every thrust. Her bare skin ached every time he moved into her again.

Over and over and over he thrust into her.

Each sob that broke out of her rose to a scream. “_NO!_” The word drew out into a wail.

Keeping one hand on her hips, Graylan wrapped his other hand around her throat and forced her to look at him. She turned her head and closed her eyes, struggling to avoid his gaze.

She felt his teeth sink into her shoulder. She screamed anew and twisted to free herself.

He grabbed her legs and lifted them entirely off the ground until all her weight strained against the handcuffs holding her up. Again and again he worked inside her. His hips sped up with urgency and he began to moan with pleasure. He pounded into her even harder.

_I can’t take it._ “Graylan, _stop!_” she screamed. “I’ll tell you, please let me…I’ll give you something…”

“I don’t care,” he growled. He shoved harder into her. “I don’t fucking care.”

“_No no no no no no no,_” she sobbed. She felt like she would shake apart. Each breath was an agonizing swell in her chest. She felt the shocks of his thrusts all the way into her body. Above it all she felt the anguish of violation, the instinct of disgust and terror as she tried to fight him as he held her down and raped her.

Graylan’s breath seemed to catch in his chest. He gasped and his back arched as his hips bucked into hers. A guttural moan rumbled through his chest as he reached his climax, a look of ecstasy spreading across his face.

His thrusting slowed, then stopped. Nia’s gasping, ragged sobs filled up the room. He sighed, resting his head against her shoulder as the aftershocks of his orgasm moved through him. He moaned quietly. Nia flinched away from the contact, straining her neck away from him, turning her head so she didn’t have to look at him.

After he caught his breath, he pulled himself out of her. Cum spilled out of her and down her legs. She trembled as he stepped away from her. She tried to get her legs under her again, but she was shaking so badly that she couldn’t bear her own weight.

He stared at her as he tucked himself back into his pants. He reached over her head pulled the handcuffs up, making some slack in the chain. He unclipped the cuffs from the clasp on the chain and released them. Nia collapsed to the floor in a puddle of cum and tears and the blood that was now running down her legs too. He watched the shudders move through her body, shaking her shoulders and hips, her legs…

She drew one heaving, sobbing breath and vomited bile on the floor where she lay.

After a pause, he smiled. “Only 22.5 hours to go.” He turned and left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Graylan tortures Nia with a knife, then punches her in the stomach, side, and ribs. He breaks her ribs with one of his blows. Then he changes tactics and rapes her, refusing to listen when she offers to talk to make it stop. He unlocks the handcuffs from the chain and leaves the room.


	9. "Don't Move"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a pause, he smiled. “Only 22.5 hours to go.” He turned and left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is immediate aftermath of the rape, warnings still apply.

Nia lay still on the floor, her mind blank with shock. Every gasping sob sent another stab of pain shooting through her chest. She could smell it, smell him on her. Smell the cum and blood on the floor. Her shoulder ached where he had bitten her. Her legs trembled with the pain that lanced through her pelvis.

She noticed distantly that Carson was no longer in the room. Vaguely she wondered when he left. _Did he see the whole thing? Did he watch?_ She couldn’t remember if he was there. She couldn’t remember anything but the look and feel and smell of Graylan as he held her against the wall and raped her. _He raped me_. She shuddered around the thought. It passed through her mind with a fuzzy, unreal quality. _He raped me._

She rolled to her side, reaching for her pants. She wanted to be covered. She _needed_ to be covered. Her hands closed on them and she jerkily pulled them on. Her stomach spasmed again with the effort, but nothing came up. She dry heaved, her body trying to expel the feeling of sickness. Her ribs ached as she gagged. After a few more retching sobs, her body was still. She did not move for several minutes.

_I’m not tied down to anything anymore._ The thought bloomed in her mind without prompting. _I’m still cuffed but I’m not shackled to the floor._ Steeling herself against the pain, she pushed herself up on her hands and knees and began to drag herself to the door.

She froze as she heard footsteps. _No._ She struggled to get to her feet but collapsed as pain lanced through her. _No no no._ She dragged herself towards the door.

The footsteps got closer. One set. “You ready?” It was Carson’s voice. _Graylan must be just outside._

Tears of frustration burned her face as she threw herself forward. She reached the doorway just as Graylan walked in.

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Graylan grabbed her by the hair and heaved her back towards the center of the room. She grunted as she hit the ground, the air driven out of her. She struggled to fill her lungs again. The pain was too much.

Carson walked into the room behind him carrying some towels. He unfolded one and laid it on the ground over the mess of cum and bile and blood.

Nia sobbed as Graylan kneeled down next to her. He was smiling again. “You ready to give me more on Operation Nightshade?”

She shook her head. “No, please…” she gasped. “Please don’t…” She pushed weakly against his chest with her shackled hands. “No no no…”

He swatted her hands away and flipped her onto her stomach. Her voice rose in pitch. “No no _no no no PLEASE!_” she screamed. She felt him put his knee on her lower back and press. “_Please!_”

He drew his knife and held it to her throat again. She flinched away from the cold blade. He grabbed her hair and forced the side of her face against the floor, the knife adding extra pressure to keep her there. “Don’t move,” he said through gritted teeth. Panicking, she struggled beneath him. He straddled her hips and pressed harder with the knife. “Hey!” he shouted at her. “Don’t fucking move!”

She froze.

Graylan leaned down, his breath warm against her ear. “Here’s what I’m gonna do next,” he whispered at her, grinning. “I’m gonna ask you a question, and you’re gonna answer. If you move, I’m going to hurt you. If you don’t answer it, I’m going to hurt you. Understand?”

Her eyelids fluttered. “Please…”

He dug the knife into her throat just below her ear. “The ideal interaction I’m looking for here is I ask questions, you answer.” He paused and tapped the blade against her face. “What is Operation Nightshade?”

Tears fell onto the floor and she swallowed, shaking her head. Graylan beckoned Carson over with a jerk of his head. “Hold her hands.” She writhed under him as Carson kneeled, crushing one hand under his knee and holding down the other in his grip. She screamed in agony. Graylan forced her face into the floor. “What is Operation Nightshade.” She sobbed wordlessly. He stabbed his blade into her forearm. She shrieked, her arm straining to pull away. Carson held her still.

Graylan twisted the knife. “What is Operation Nightshade.”

Her voice broke as she screamed. “It’s…no, please…Graylan…”

His twisted harder. “What was that? Sounded like you had something to say.”

“It’s…it’s a…no…” She moaned. “I can’t…”

Graylan yanked the knife out of her arm and stabbed it into her shoulder. She screamed again. “_No!_ It’s a…task force made to…” She wailed out a wordless sob. “To eliminate you and…and…no, I…”

He dragged the knife down her shoulder blade. “…and?”

“Please…to dismantle your terrorist ring…”

Blood oozed from the wounds in her arm onto the floor. Graylan looked at her thoughtfully. “And what’s your part in that?”

She shuddered. “No…please…”

He forewent the knife and pounded his fist against the wound he had made in her shoulder. “How are you not getting how this works?” he shouted over her cries. She sobbed into the floor. He grabbed her hair and twisted her neck. “As happy as making you beg makes me -” She groaned. “- I’ve got other shit here I need to do. What -” He punched her in the shoulder. “- is -” He punched her again. “- your -” Again. “- role.”

As soon as she could draw breath she screamed, “I’m the lead field agent!”

He paused. “Were you working under this operation when I first met you?” Sobs wracked her chest. He drew his knife down the back of her neck. “I need you to answer me, Nia.”

“I…” She gulped. “Please, I…” He drove his fist into her side. She screamed in agony. “Y…yes…” She pressed her lips together as tears rolled down her face. She could smell her blood pooling on the floor.

“Are any other agencies involved?” She gasped raggedly. He leaned one hand on her back.

Her ribs screamed in protest. She tried to speak but she couldn’t draw breath through the pain. “Come on, Nia. I need to know who else is coming after me.”

In a panic, she twisted. “I…can’t…breathe…”

“Tell me what other agencies are involved, Nia.” His fingers dug into her back.

She couldn’t form words. Her eyes were wide with terror.

Graylan sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He moved his weight off of her and stood. She took a shaking inhale and sobbed. “Carson, break time.” Carson got to his feet and stood against the wall. Graylan began to dig through the bag of equipment.


	10. Adrenaline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graylan sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He moved his weight off of her and stood. She took a shaking inhale and sobbed. “Carson, break time.” Carson got to his feet and stood against the wall. Graylan began to dig through the bag of equipment.

Graylan pulled a bottle of Gatorade out of the bag and opened it. He took several long, lazy gulps and wiped his mouth. Nia sobbed into her arm, still splayed on the ground. “Want some?” Graylan held the bottle out to her. She didn’t move.

“Oh, come on.” Graylan knelt beside her. She flinched away from him, her arm leaving streaks of blood on the floor. “Come on, Nia,” Graylan said, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her upright until she was sitting. “Dehydration isn’t going to kill you quickly enough. You might as well drink.” He held the bottle out to her again.

_He’s right_. Hesitantly, she reached out and took the bottle in her shackled hands. Her right hand was slick with blood. Her left hand throbbed from being crushed under Carson’s knee. _I don’t think anything’s broken. Not too badly anyway._ She paused, hands shaking, waiting for him to do something to her.

“Come on Nia, I don’t have all day.”

She brought the bottle to her lips and drank. As soon as the drink touched her tongue, she realized how thirsty she was. _I’ve lost a lot of water. And salt._ She gulped hungrily at the bottle and emptied it. She handed the empty bottle back to Graylan.

“You’re welcome.”

She glared at him.

“Breathing easier now?” Graylan tilted his head at her. She shuddered. “Great. Where were we?”

“No -”

He smashed the back of his fist against her face. She flew back against the floor, blood spattering from her mouth. She felt her tongue split open from where she had accidently bitten it. Her lip oozed blood. She scrambled to get away from Graylan as he advanced on her, aiming another punch at the stab wound in her shoulder.

Nia threw her hands out in front of her face as Graylan grabbed her hair and dragged her backwards a few steps. He threw her down on her back and straddled her.

“I don’t really remember where I was,” he said as he wrapped a hand around her throat. She threw her hands at his face but he caught them, forcing them to the ground above her head. “I think I was asking you something about -”

Adrenaline surged through her at the feeling of being held down again. Muscle memory kicking in, she dug her heels into the floor and thrust her hips up into the air. Already off balance from leaning towards her, he pitched forward. As he lost his balance she ripped her hands out of his grasp and grabbed his shirt, pulling him up and over her head. He crashed to the ground over her shoulder. She staggered to her feet and turned to face Carson.

He was already advancing on her. He threw a punch at her head. She blocked it and let it pass by her face. She drilled her knee into his abdomen and to her brief satisfaction, he let out a grunt.

Her knee buckled as Graylan kicked her in the back of the leg. As she went down he grabbed the neck of her T shirt and dragged her backwards. She lost her balance and stumbled back. Carson grabbed her arm and pulled her back with Graylan to the back wall. He grabbed the handcuffs and forced her hands above her head. Graylan clipped them onto the chain again and stepped back. He was laughing.

“I forget sometimes that you’re on an elite field team. With your injuries…I really am impressed by you, Nia.” He shook his head in amusement. “I honestly enjoy the fact that you’re fighting back. It keeps things interesting.”

The adrenaline was fading and Nia felt all the hurts come back into her body. She sagged against the handcuffs. Her chest felt constricted with pain. She felt all the blows she had taken to her abdomen. _I wonder if he ruptured something._ She would be grateful to go like that. _He might not even realize I was dying until it was too late._

He stepped closer to her. “I know there’s a good reason you do what you do, but it’s just…so…_thrilling_…” He grabbed her chin and pulled her face forward. “…to see it in action.” He smiled. “You could have done some amazing things for me. Instead…” He undid his belt and drew it from the belt loops. “…you’re going to help me take down your operation.”


	11. Tear-Stained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You could have done some amazing things for me. Instead…” He undid his belt and drew it from the belt loops. “…you’re going to help me take down your operation.”

Graylan paused, his belt clutched in his fist. “What other agencies are involved with Operation Nightshade?”

She steeled herself against the pain and shook her head.

Graylan’s hand lashed out and the belt whipped against her chest. She cried out but bit off the scream. _I can’t let him have any more. I told him too much already. Please, please god, please don’t let me tell him anything else._

“Anything? Bueller?” The belt cracked against her thighs. She screamed but didn’t say anything. “Come on Nia, this is actually way more fun than I thought it would be. But you have to tell me something. Who else is involved?” He whipped her against her side. This time she couldn’t bite back the scream. Her throat was raw.

“I think I might be going about this the wrong way.” He flipped the belt so the buckle hung from the free end. “Let’s see if this helps you be a little more talkative.” He struck it against her abdomen.

The cry that ripped out of her was agonizing. “Stop! Stop, I…it’s only a few people…it’s…”

He didn’t wait. He struck her again, aiming high and leaving bleeding welts on her forearms.

“No, _please!_” She swallowed. “It’s me…and…one other person from my agency…one from the FBI…one from -”

_Crack._

Another scream. “One from the CIA, and one from…no, I can’t -”

_Crack._

She sobbed in agony. “One from…the NSA…”

_Crack._

“_Please,_” she begged. “That’s all of them.”

“Who’s your oversight?”

“No one, we -”

_Crack._

The agony was unbearable. “_We don’t have oversight_,” she cried. “I’m telling you the truth, the one from the CIA was in charge of the assembly of the team and then we -”

_Crack._

“_No!_ We have the blessing of our agencies to operate independently to…” She moaned.

Graylan aimed high again. She flinched at the last second and the buckle smashed against her eyebrow. The skin split and started bleeding immediately. The blood seeped into her eye, burning and blurring her vision. She scrubbed her face against her arm, trying to clear the blood.

“How long have you been working with the operation?”

She whimpered. “Please, just let me -”

_Crack._ “Just let you what? Rest? Make something up? I thought we were getting into a rhythm there. Really felt like I was -” _Crack._ “- getting somewhere.”

Her scream was drawn out and agonized. Blood ran down her body under her clothes. Her shirt had ripped in several places where the buckle had torn into the fabric. She was grateful for at least that level of protection.

The belt whipped her legs again.

“_Ten months_, ten months, that’s how -”

“That’s when you blew me up. That was your first mission with them?”

“Yes, yes,” she gasped. “The recruited me during the planning phase, said I could work with my team and help them…”

“Who recruited you?”

“No no no, please, I -”

_Crack._

“_No_, I can’t, please…”

_Crack._ “I need a name, Nia. Who recruited you?” _Crack._

“I _can’t tell you,_ please…”

_Crack._

“Graylan _stop_…”

_Crack._

_Anything to make the pain stop._ “Marshall Smith, he…” She dissolved into sobs. _I betrayed my friend. I betrayed Smith._ “Graylan no…please…”

He struck her against the chest. “I need another name.”

She could barely speak past the lump in her throat. “Please…”

_Crack._

“Please just…let me die…”

He started laughing. “We’re just getting to the good stuff! Come on, Nia, you’re doing great. We’ve got a long time until I kill you.”

Her chest heaved with gulping sobs. “I can’t, I…please just kill me…” The tears left stains in the blood as they ran down her cheeks.

He rolled his eyes. “Christ, I can’t handle these dramatics. Let’s try something else.” He reached for the chain and unclipped the handcuffs. He released her arms and kicked her to the floor.


	12. Pinned Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her chest heaved with gulping sobs. “I can’t, I…please just kill me…” The tears left stains in the blood as they ran down her cheeks.
> 
> He rolled his eyes. “Christ, I can’t handle these dramatics. Let’s try something else.” He reached for the chain and unclipped the handcuffs. He released her arms and kicked her to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok folks, this chapter is really dark. Starts out with David's perspective and that doesn't need any warnings, but it switches to Nia's perspective and that's where it gets bad. I separated the sections with ***. I actually surprised myself with how dark this got. This chapter contains gang rape and serious mindfuckery. Consider yourself warned.

David jumped awake as Tom entered the briefing room. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. His body trembled from the shock and fear of what Tom might say.

“What is it? Did you find her?” David’s mouth was dry.

Tom took a deep breath and let it out shakily. “We think so. Smith was able to hack the VPN and traced it to a wifi network a few hours away from here. I called in a favor and asked a buddy at the AFSCN to take some close-up satellite imagery. There’s a small building there. It’s a pretty remote area. The closest town is 32 miles away. There aren’t any roads leading to it. Roads don’t even get close. If I had to guess…” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “I’d say it was a safehouse.”

David tried to keep his voice from shaking. “Great. Can we leave now?”

“Hang on, David. I’m trying to brief you. You need to just…” Tom put a hand on David’s arm and pushed him towards a seat. “…hang on. You need all the info you can get.”

“Ok.” David sat heavily. “What is it?” His hands fidgeted with the edge of the table.

Tom pulled up a satellite photo on the screen. “As far as we can tell, Graylan’s been using this place as a safehouse for the past few days, at the very least. There are a few worn pathways and signs that he’s been in and out. Probably stocking provisions, prepping it for…” His voice faltered for a moment. “For Nia. As of two hours ago, he’s got 6 men with 2 vehicles patrolling the surrounding woods. We don’t know how many are inside. We also don’t know what kind of surveillance he’s got.”

“Ok. What’s the plan?”

“That’s what I’m here to consult you about. You’re the lead field guy, you have a perspective the rest of the team doesn’t have. We have a few options. One, we could have someone parachute in. The forest is dense enough that they _might_ not see someone coming in from the sky.” Tom pushed his glasses up.

“You don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?” David’s throat was tight.

“No.” Tom’s shoulders stooped. “No, I don’t. We could also have an assault team surround the building and advance at the same time. If we take them by surprise, we might be able to eliminate the problem and get to Nia before he…” Tom couldn’t speak for a moment.

“Before he kills her,” David whispered, finishing Tom’s sentence. Tom nodded. “That won’t work either.”

“I…I know.” Tom looked defeated. “The only other option I see is -”

“Stealth.”

“Yes.”

“You want me to go in and extract her myself.”

Tom pressed his mouth into a hard line. “Yes.”

David stared at the picture for a moment. “I can do it. I can go in on foot.” He glanced at his watch. It was already almost noon. “How far away is this place?”

“To make it to Franklin, the town nearby, it’s a seven hour drive from here.”

“Can we fly?”

Tom shook his head. “Graylan was able to get to an agent without anyone noticing. We have no idea what kind of surveillance and security he has running. No, we’ll have to drive. You’ll leave this building in a different car than the one you arrived in. You’ll drive to Johnstown, which is about 10 miles away. I have a contact there who will leave you another car. You’ll drive that to Franklin. That will put you there at about 1900. Then about 32 miles in. You’ll only have a little over seven hours to get to her -”

“I can do it.”

“I know you can. I’m just trying to tell you -”

“That’s a 14-minute mile. I can do it.”

Tom pulled in a breath. “…I know. I’m just trying to keep all the options in mind. The terrain is pretty rough. And you’ll be completely alone. If you pick up a tail, if you get stopped…if trouble finds you…” He held up his hands. “I won’t be able to help you. Any sign that we’re mobilizing anything other than the ransom might tip him off and he might -”

“I can do it. I hiked farther in Venezuela and there were more guns running around. And…” He turned his eyes to the picture. “It’s Nia.” He couldn’t look at it for too long. If the picture was only 2 hours old, it meant he was looking at her. She was there right now.

“Ok.” Tom handed him a map. “Use this. Leave your phone here. I’m not going to risk having any trackers on you either.” He handed him a pager. “I’m sending you only with this. So if you fail, if you get caught…”

David’s eyes were hard. “I won’t get caught.”

Tom nodded. “Ok. You got your med bag assembled?”

David patted it where it was lying on the table. “Yup.”

“Good. I’ve got the team throwing together a pack for you right now. Warm weather clothing, water, food.”

David met Tom’s gaze, the tears in his eyes spilling over. “Thank you.”

Tom took David’s hand and gripped it. “Go get her.”

**********************

Nia lay on the floor like she was dead. Her body was pierced with agony with every breath. _Why am I not dead yet_. She wanted to be dead. The men stared down at her and watched as she trembled.

“You don’t seem to be understanding me still, Nia,” Graylan said. “I’m going to keep going until we’re done. You’re not going to die until I’m satisfied I have everything. Got it?”

She couldn’t count the number of bleeding welts on her body. Each one ached and stung. _I just want to die._

Graylan nudged her onto her back with his foot. Her body was limp. “You gave me one name,” he said. “By my count you owe me three more.”

She choked on her tears. “I…can’t…”

Graylan knelt down and pressed his hands against her hips. She hissed at the pressure of the bruises and cut on her back against the floor. “Sounds like you need more convincing.” He jerked her pants down off her waist.

“Graylan _no!!_” she wailed. “No no no no, please, _please_, _PLEASE!_”

He tore her pants all the way off. “‘Please’ means nothing to me. I need names.” He opened the front of his pants again. “Let’s start with the CIA name. Who is it?”

“_No no no no!_”

“Nia, I’m going to do this if you don’t give me names. The FBI name, maybe?” He kneeled between her legs.

“_PLEASE_ Graylan, _NO_!”

He forced himself into her again.

Her scream tore through her throat. She pushed at him with her hands. Carson stepped in and grabbed the handcuffs, dragging them above her head. He got down on his knees at her head and pinned her hands down.

“Please, I’ll tell you, I’ll give you names…”

“I’m listening…”

“Please, I -”

“Not the right answer.” He began to work his hips into her again.

“No no no no no it’s…Delia Thomas in the FBI…”

He didn’t slow. He thrust deeper into her, deeper than he did while standing up. She screamed as he punched into her, bruising her from the inside. She pulled against the handcuffs but Carson wouldn’t budge. She saw Graylan’s face above her, determined and dark, as he drove into her over and over. Carson looked hungry, fascinated. Her thoughts fractured into pain and horror.

“_Please stop, please, no no no no no…_”

Graylan just laughed. He strained to force himself further inside her as his hips pumped again and again and again. He wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed. A high-pitched whine rose from her throat. Tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She tried to talk, tried to give him a name, but he pressed his hand harder onto her throat, cutting off her air. She started to get dizzy, the pain in her pelvis drifting farther away. Then he released her neck and she took a shuddering gasp. She coughed and it made her spasm around him. He groaned at the sensation.

Drunk on his power and her humiliation, he reached his climax faster. His hips bucked into her as he came, crying out with the release. Sweat dripped off his forehead onto her face. She recoiled. She moaned as he pulled out of her, spilling himself on the floor as he tucked himself back into his pants. He stood on his knees for a moment, watching as her chest heaved. He noticed Carson’s hungry look.

Nia’s eyes were unfocused as she heard Graylan say, “want a turn?”

Her stomach dropped. _Not again, I can’t._ Carson’s smile loomed over her. “Sure.”

Graylan stepped back to make room for Carson. Carson grabbed her and flipped her onto her belly. She cried out as her wounds jostled against the floor. To her horror, she felt Carson’s hands grip her hips so hard she felt the skin start to bruise. Carson fumbled with his pants and pressed himself against her.

“Please,” she begged, desperate. “Please, I’ll…”

Carson entered her with a groan. She felt herself tear a little more with his extra girth. She moaned. He jerked against her, shoving deeper inside her. He began to roll his hips.

Graylan got down on the floor and pulled her up by her hair. She cried out. “Let’s hear those names.”

“C…Carter Holden in the NSA…”

“Good, good. One more I think.” He twisted her neck so she had to look at him.

“Edward Garcia in the CIA…please…that’s all of them…”

Carson was beginning to moan and pick up the speed of his thrusts. “Hey, slow down a bit,” Graylan said. “We’re really getting somewhere.”

“No no no, please, _please_, I can’t…”

Graylan let go of her hair briefly to slap her across the face. Carson slowed down but drove into her harder. Her body pitched forward with the force of each thrust. Graylan grabbed her hair again and strained her neck up so he could see her face. “How much of my operation do they know about?”

She struggled to pull away from his grasp. He tightened his hand in her hair and yanked her towards him. Carson dug his fingers into her hips to pull her back against him. She moaned in agony.

Graylan paused. The corners of his mouth pulled up into a smile. “You know…” he whispered, his voice dripping insinuation, “the noises you’re making right now are just obscene.”

Taking a cue from Graylan, Carson doubled his efforts and began to fuck her as hard as he could. She cried out, her voice cracking.

Graylan laughed. “I should have done this the first time I met you. But you know, it…” He stopped talking to savor the moan that tore out of her chest. “It just wasn’t the right time. I had other shit to do. But now, you…” He yanked her head to the side, exposing her neck. He bit her, hard, relishing the vibration of her scream against his lips. “I’ve never…” He gripped her throat again and squeezed. She pushed clumsily against his hands. He dragged her shackled hands forward, slamming them against the floor and holding them there the way Carson had done it for him. He shoved her face against the floor with a hand in her hair. He bent over her, his lips pressed against her ear as he rasped, “I’ve never felt so…fucking…good.”

Carson’s moans rose into a whine as he came. He buried himself as deep as he could as he emptied himself into her. He caught his breath with a gasping moan. He stayed inside her a moment more, quivering with the power of his climax. Then he pulled out and got to his feet.

Graylan watched her as she shuddered. She didn’t have the energy to sob. She lay prone on the floor, tears running down her face. Her mouth hung open in shock.

“You know,” Graylan said, “I could go again.” He moved around behind her and pulled her towards him.


	13. Stay With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of rape from last chapter.

Nia lay limp and unmoving on the floor. Graylan nudged her with his toe. “Nia…” He nudged her again, harder. “You still with us? You’re doing great but I’ve got more questions.” She swallowed but didn’t move. Her eyes were glazed over and unfocused.

Graylan sighed and bent down to look at her. “Nia…” He shook her shoulder. “Get with the program here…” He pressed his thumb into the stab wound on her shoulder. She began to wail softly, her eyes snapping to his face. “There you go! Ready to get back to it?”

She shook her head and pushed weakly against his hand. “P…please…I…can’t…” she croaked. Her throat was raw from screaming.

“Sure you can. Come on.” He rolled her onto her back. The floor was sticky with her drying blood. Carson threw him a towel and he mopped it up. “We’re gonna run out of towels.” He laughed. Nia tried to roll onto her side, protecting herself as much as she could. He kicked her onto her back again and pulled her hands over her head. He stepped on the handcuffs. “Ready to keep talking?”

“No…please…”

He placed his other foot on her throat and pressed.

Her eyes went wide. She pulled against the handcuffs, body twisting and bucking, trying to throw Graylan off her. She gasped and choked, the tears starting again. Graylan lifted his foot slightly. “You talk or this continues.”

Frantically, she nodded.

“Great.”

He stepped away from her. She reached with one hand for her pants, lying in a heap on the floor. Graylan sighed. “You want those on again?” She whimpered, high in her throat. “Fine.” He kicked them over to her. She pulled them on, barely able to get them over her hips. Her legs were slick with blood and cum. She curled into a quivering ball. “_Now_ can we talk?”

He stepped carefully around her, making a decision for his next move. He kneeled, his knee pressing down onto her legs. He pulled his gun from the holster and pressed it against her thigh. She flinched away from him. Carson stepped in and dragged her hands up, forcing her onto her back. She sobbed, her voice breaking.

“So,” Graylan said, adjusting the gun and pressing it to the side of her leg. “I need you to tell me how much your operation knows about mine. If you don’t, I’m going to shoot you right here. It’ll be a through-and-through, little chance of you bleeding out before I have what I need. I’m giving you the chance to tell me without any pain involved. If you do it in three…”

She shook her head violently.

“Two…”

“No no no _no no no please please PLEASE_”

“One…”

“DON’T -” 

He pulled the trigger. The sound was deafening. She screamed in agony as the bullet tore through her leg and embedded itself in the floor. Blood began to flow freely from the wound.

“How much do you know about my operation?”

She choked on her sobs, hardly able to make words. “We…know…about…”

He pressed his hand against her leg. She screamed again. “Please please please…no…we know…you moved the communications offline…after the…” He put more pressure on the wound. “No…after we found your servers…”

“What else?”

_He’s torturing me while stopping the bleeding. He won’t let me bleed out._ “The…terrorist ring that’s been…bombing government buildings…we know it’s yours…and the…” She moaned.

“Yes?” He pressed harder.

She screamed. “The…please…I’m telling you…”

“And you’re doing a great job. What else?” The blood was making a puddle on the floor.

“We think you’re…a big supplier in a…human trafficking ring but…” A sob tore out of her throat. “We can’t figure out where you’re based or who you…please…”

“Who I what?”

“It…hurts…please…”

Graylan released her leg for a moment and threw a punch against the wound. Her scream of agony ripped out of her chest.

“Oh, I’m sorry, it hurts?” Graylan punched her again. “I must have been completely missing the point of this exercise.” Another punch. She was delirious with pain. “I’ve just been trying to…have a decent conversation…” He leaned his knee against her wound and reached up, grabbing her hair. She gasped, moaning with the pain as he increased the weight on her wound. “…and you’ve been making that conversation difficult. So. You were saying? Something about a human trafficking ring. Spot on, by the way. Gotta make money somehow.” He grinned.

_Too much._ Her eyes rolled back and she stopped fighting.

“Nia?”

Nothing.

“Nia.” Graylan patted her face, increasing the pressure until it became a slap. Her eyes fluttered. “Stay with me, you don’t get off that easy.” Her head lolled to the side. “Uh uh, nope, stay with me Nia.” He seized her hair again. “Come on, Nia, wake up. We’ve got more to talk about.”

Two tears rolled down her cheeks. She moaned softly.

Graylan sighed. “Ok. Fine.” He stood, removing pressure from the wound. “Let’s give her a break,” he said to Carson. “I need a compression bandage, and let’s get her some water.”


	14. Muffled Scream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graylan sighed. “Ok. Fine.” He stood, removing pressure from the wound. “Let’s give her a break,” he said to Carson. “I need a compression bandage, and let’s get her some water.”

Nia was sitting up in the chair, hands cuffed behind her. Every breath, every moment hurt, but she tried to breathe normally. Graylan paced in front of her.

“Looks like someone’s feeling better.” She looked up at him helplessly. “Ready to start again?” She whimpered. “Great. Me too.”

He reached into the bag and pulled out a strip of cloth. “Here’s what we’re gonna do next.” She shivered. “I know this whole ordeal is about getting information, great, whatever. What I didn’t anticipate, though, is…” He stepped towards her and grabbed her hair, forcing her face close to his. “…your screams sound…so…good.”

She closed her eyes, sending a stream of tears down her cheeks. Her lips trembled. “No…please…”

Graylan groaned. “Oh, but I love your begging, too!” He laughed. “What’s the phrase? ‘I’ve never felt this way before.’ You’ve broadened my horizons, Nia. You’ve made a sadist of me. I’m gonna enjoy you while I have the chance. I really don’t have much more time with you.”

She couldn’t help but be relieved. _He’s going to kill me soon._

He forced the gag into her mouth and tied it behind her head. She began to cry softly.

“So I’m just gonna hurt you and…listen. I want to hear you scream through the gag. That’s the whole point of this bit. We’ll get to the info part later, I promise. But right now I just want to…” He dug a finger into the wound on her shoulder. She gasped and moaned. “…yeah. That right there.” He pulled back his hand. She sobbed into the gag.

He turned to the bag and rummaged through it. “Where is…ah, here.” He pulled out a nightstick. Slowly, so slowly, he approached Nia. He relished the frightened sobs she was making, the way her body quaked from head to toe. “Now I want you,” he whispered, getting in close, “to think about all the things you have left to tell me. You know I won’t be able to hear you through the gag, so I want you to make a mental list as they come to you. When I take the gag off I want to hear a nice long list of information, got it?” A high, keening whine was coming from her throat. He lifted her chin with the nightstick until he could see her eyes. They were terrified, pleading. He smiled. “Got it?” Defeatedly, she nodded. “Great.”

He stepped back and whipped the nightstick against her arm. She wailed, her voice trailing off into sobs. Graylan’s face lit up in a grin. “Now that’s the good shit.”

He began to beat her in earnest, pausing to relish the agonized scream every time. Each strike left angry bruises on her legs, her abdomen, her arms. One strike split her flesh. Then another. He stayed away from her face. A concussion would do bad things for the interrogation.

_I can’t take it. I’ll tell him everything_. “_Please,_” she pleaded through the gag, but it only came out as a muffled scream.

He moved behind her. She twisted to try to see him, but he grabbed her hair and forced her head back. “I wonder what would happen if I just beat you to death right here,” he whispered in her ear. Her breaths came loud and labored. “If I just kept…beating you…” She whimpered. “…fact is, I don’t really have the option to ever stop. You’ve surprised me more than once during our time together. I don’t know if I could ever really know if you were telling me everything. So I can’t decide…” She struggled against him and he yanked her head back again. “I can’t decide whether I should just but a bullet in your head when the 24 hours is up, or just…” Every breath was a sob. “…torture you to death.” He smiled down at her. “I guess I’ll just have to see how it goes.”

He brought the nightstick down on her forearms. Nia heard a loud _snap_ and she shattered into an agonized scream. Her chest heaved as the scream continued to tear from her throat. She couldn’t stop. The pain was overwhelming. Every breath broke out of her with a sob. She sagged, her head dropping forward towards her lap.

Graylan walked around in front of her and lifted her face up. She still fought to catch her breath as the pain kept driving sobs out of her throat. “Now,” Graylan said as he untied the gag and pulled it from her mouth, “are you ready to tell me everything?”

She nodded.


	15. Asphyxiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now,” Graylan said as he untied the gag and pulled it from her mouth, “are you ready to tell me everything?”  
She nodded.

Nia sagged forward, every nerve in her body screaming. _I can’t believe I told him everything._

Graylan stared at her, bouncing the nightstick off the palm of his hand. It was dripping with Nia’s blood. He checked his watch. “It’s almost midnight. I have to admit, this took longer than I expected.” He pouted his lips. “Are you _sure_ that’s everything?”

_Yes. Yes, it’s everything. Please let me die now._ She nodded, the movement sending drops of sweat dripping onto the floor.

Graylan wiped the nightstick on her shirt. It didn’t get cleaner. There was too much blood soaked into her shirt. He dropped the nightstick on the floor. “You know…” He stooped to get a closer look at her. “…there’s a lot more you could tell me. I’ve still got time, might as well not waste it.”

She looked up at him and sobbed brokenly. “No…no…I…please just kill me. That was the deal…you kill me when you have what you need.”

Graylan smiled. “You only told me about your agency. Now I want to learn about your partner.”

Nia’s stomach sunk through the floor. “No…please…please don’t make me…no no no.” She began to sob uncontrollably.

Graylan reached for a towel. “I want to hear all about David. His strengths, his weaknesses…” His mouth pulled into a terrifying grin. “His fears…”

Nia struggled against the handcuffs, crying out when it moved her broken arm. “No no no no please _no!_” _Not David. I can’t betray David. Please, not David._

“Let’s start with his fears. Tell me all about those.” He walked behind her.

She shook her head frantically. “No no no please…”

“Ok. I’ll give you some time to think about it.” He pulled the towel over her face and forced her head back. “Carson, give me the water.”

She screamed in protest, straining every muscle to try to escape his grasp. “_NO!_”

Her scream was choked off as Graylan began to pour water over her face.

Panic clutched at her immediately. She gasped reflexively, drawing water down her throat and into her lungs. She coughed and bucked against Graylan’s hold. Her ribs flared with agony with every gasp and cough. She tried to hold her breath for a moment, but her body rebelled and dragged in more water with the air.

At the moment she thought she would lose her mind, Graylan released the hold on the cloth. Nia pitched forward, coughing the water out of her throat. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She could barely hear Graylan speak over the pounding in her ears.

“Tell me something interesting about David.”

_I can’t_. She bit her tongue with her frantic need to stay quiet. She tasted blood.

“Ok.” Graylan pulled the towel over her head and waterboarded her again.

She was wild with panic. _Anything to make this stop._ When Graylan let her go again, she coughed and spluttered. “Please…” she wheezed, gulping down the air. “I’ll tell you.”

Graylan walked around so he was in front of her. “Great. Let’s hear what you got.”

Shame descended on her. _I can’t take it_. “David is…afraid of…” She was seized by a coughing fit. Her ribs ached.

Graylan sighed. “Take your time. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Tears mixed with the water dripping down her face. “He…doesn’t like…small spaces.”

Graylan laughed. “Really? That’s a secret I had to torture out of you? ‘David doesn’t like small spaces?’ Christ.” He reached for the towel.

“No no no,” Nia pleaded desperately. “He’s weak in his left arm.” She shivered as the waves of pain broke over her with every breath. “He took a knife to the shoulder before I met him. Please…please stop…”

“You really need to stop interrupting yourself.” He pulled the towel over her face and poured more water over her.

She couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t form a single coherent thought. Her mind was seized with nothing but the need to do anything to breathe.

He let her up and her body convulsed with the force of her coughing. She dragged in rasping breaths, feeling the water in her lungs. She was going to drown if this kept happening. Of all the ways Graylan could kill her, asphyxiation would be the worst.

“I’ll tell you everything, I’ll tell you if you just stop…please…please just stop…”

“I’m listening…”

The words tore out of her. “His jiu jitsu isn’t great. He doesn’t like being held down so he doesn’t practice like he should.” She panted. _I need to keep talking._ “He gets upset when children die on missions. It fucks him up for days. He sometimes…” A sob choked her. “…he sometimes wakes up screaming when he dreams about…a woman…he had to shoot her…she had a bomb and…” The tears wouldn’t stop. “He blames himself every time I get hurt. He…” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know what he’s going to do after this…once I’m…once I’m dead…I don’t know if he…” Her shoulders shook with sobs.

Graylan put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re doing great. If you stop, I’m going to waterboard you again.”

Her eyes went wide. “No! No, please! I’m telling you…I’m…David…he…” Her mind went blank. _What are his weaknesses?_ “I…what do you want me to tell you?”

Graylan smirked. “Tell me about your relationship.”

Her cheeks went red. “I…”

Graylan smirked. “Tell me about the nasty things you do with David when you’re not royally fucking up my life.”

She pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling. “I…we…after the mission…with the fire…we…” She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t let Graylan into the love she shared with David.

Graylan reached for the towel.

“_No!_” she shrieked. “I’ll tell you, I…after the mission we…we slept together. I didn’t realize I had feelings for him until…he…”

He laughed. “This is just riveting. So precious. I’m a sucker for the whole partners-to-lovers thing. He has your back, you take a bullet for him, he saves you, you kiss, the whole shebang.” He tilted his head at her as he chuckled. “That’s sweet. What do you think he’s doing right now?”

She cringed into herself. “I don’t know.”

Graylan pouted his lips and said in a high-pitched voice, “you think he’s gonna come save you?”

She tried not to let the tears fall. “I…I don’t want him to…”

“Aw, why not?”

She coughed up some water and spat it out. “I don’t…want him to…” Her voice broke into a sob. “He can’t die because of me.”

Graylan threw his head back in a peal of laughter. “Self-sacrificing to the end. Oh, god, I love it. You couldn’t write stuff like this.” He grabbed a handful of Nia’s hair and jerked her head back. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you die from this.”

He pulled the towel over her face again.


	16. Trembling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graylan threw his head back in a peal of laughter. “Self-sacrificing to the end. Oh, god, I love it. You couldn’t write stuff like this.” He grabbed a handful of Nia’s hair and jerked her head back. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you die from this.”  
He pulled the towel over her face again.

David broke through the trees and set his eyes on the house. _She’s in there. She has to be._ He checked his watch. _0201_. He drew his sidearm.

Perfectly silently, he crouched and jogged to the house. He was grateful for the cover of darkness. He’d only spotted one of Graylan’s men as he hiked in. For such a special target, Graylan hadn’t set up a lot of security. _He probably thinks he threw us off with the VPN_. The house was one story and small. He put his hand on the knob and turned.

The door slowly swung open. _There’s no way…_ Graylan was either incredibly confident that he was safe, or this was a trap. _It wouldn’t be this obvious if it were a trap_. He carefully stepped inside.

As soon as he stepped inside he knew it was a safehouse. No windows, he realized. _Weird._ Slowly he began to clear the house. All the lights were off, except for one in a room at the end of the hallway.

_Bang_. A bullet pierced his leg and he went down. Someone barreled into him and knocked him to the floor. The man punched him in the back of the head and David momentarily saw stars. His gun was wrestled away from him. He was jerked to his feet, hands held tightly behind him.

“Lee!” came the voice. Graylan’s voice. Once David was able to focus he saw him standing in the hall, lit from behind by the light in the room. He had a grin plastered on his face. “I’m actually very surprised to see you. I should have figured, though. Nia’s been telling me all about you. It’s been a fun conversation. Carson, bring him on over.”

Carson shoved David forward, keeping a grip on his wrists. He stumbled the few steps down the hall and into the doorway of the lit room. As soon as he saw Nia, his heart dropped. She was restrained to a chair, her arms pulled behind her and shackled with handcuffs. Her head drooped nearly to her lap. David’s mind froze when he saw she was covered in blood.

He raged and yanked against Carson. The bigger man wrapped an arm around David’s neck and squeezed. David stopped struggling and tried to pull Carson’s arm away from his neck. Carson’s arm tightened more and he stiffened.

Graylan sauntered over to Nia. “I really was gonna try to wait the full 24 hours, but might as well end this now. This is a weirdly convenient opportunity.” David tried to rip himself away from Carson. Carson kicked him in the back of the leg, right over his gunshot wound. He groaned and stopped fighting for a moment. Carson drew his gun and pressed it against the side of David’s head. 

“Hey Nia.” Graylan slapped her across the face. She didn’t react. “Time’s up. They didn’t deliver the ransom.”

_That’s a lie._ They were prepared to deliver the money, just in case David failed. _This is Graylan’s final torture._ Nia’s last moments would be spent in despair.

Graylan leaned closer to Nia and pulled back her hair. It was dripping wet and streaked with blood. Graylan’s voice became almost gentle. “I almost wish I hadn’t broken you,” he whispered. “It was a lot of fun but…I see why David wants you.” He pulled her hair back, lifting her face to him. David could see her eyes were unfocused and glazed over. “Speaking of David, he actually showed up. Want to say hi? He’s right over there.”

No answer. She was beyond him, beyond everyone.

Graylan’s voice turned cold. “Answer me,” he demanded. Before David could realize what he was doing, Graylan drew his gun and fired it into her foot. She screamed, the scream of a wounded animal. Graylan waited for an answer and shrugged when her cries trailed off into silence again.

Graylan put the gun to her head and checked his watch. “Eh, 2:06. Close enough.”

David screamed. “_Nia! NO!_” His mind went blank. He grabbed the gun pressed to his head with one hand and forced it backwards. He pulled the trigger with his thumb. The sound of the gunshot deafened him in his right ear. He felt blood spatter the back of his head and Carson crumpled to the ground behind him.

Gun still in hand, he aimed it at Graylan. Graylan did not even have time to look up before he was dead.

David rushed to Nia and knelt at her side. Her face was pale and drawn with agony. Her eyebrow and lip were gashed open, leaving streaks of blood down her face. Her hair was tangled and matted with blood and sweat. _Or water?_ Her arms were marked with angry, swollen welts that were bruising already. Some were leaking blood. Her entire right arm was slick with blood coming from a stab wound in her shoulder. There was a compression bandage around her thigh, soaked through and dripping blood. She was pale and cold and trembling violently.

David grabbed his pager and sent a frantic message: _Got her. Send medical._

Working silently, he reached for a handcuff key in his pack and unclasped the handcuffs. As they came away he saw the deep cuts they had left in her wrists. As gently as he could, he eased her onto the floor.

David pulled off his med bag and quickly got to work. _I have to stop the pain, I have to give her morphine._ His hands shook as he assembled the syringe and needle. His thoughts were jagged and chaotic. _No no no wait, blood pressure, if she’s shocky…_ He pulled out his cuff, praying for a solid pressure. His hands shook as he took it. _112/68. I’ll take it._ He put a tourniquet around her arm and felt for a vein. He deftly slid the needle under her skin and injected half the syringe.

_Please, please, please let the morphine start working._ A small sound came from Nia’s lips. She whimpered.

David was instantly more alert. “Nia.”

A broken sob rose from her throat. “Please…don’t…”

David’s eyes filled with tears. “Nia. It’s me. It’s David.”

“…David…?”

“Yes, it’s me. I won’t hurt you, Nia. Oh god, you’re ok. It’s alright. It’s gonna be ok. I’m going to help you. Just hang on. I need to check you for injuries, alright?”

She nodded, her head falling back onto the floor.

His hands went to her head first. _Nothing but the gash on her eyebrow and some bruises to her face._ He moved lower, to her neck. His stomach dropped as he saw a thin, purple bruise encircling her throat. Her neck was bruised with clear handprints in a muddle of purple and brown. _He strangled her. Multiple times._ He swallowed a lump in his throat. There were a few superficial cuts from where David was sure Graylan had held a knife there. His stomach heaved in revulsion as he noticed a red, oozing bite mark on her neck. There was one deep cut down the back of her neck. He moved on to her chest. He gingerly lifted her shirt to survey the damage. Her chest, abdomen, and back were a mess of bruises. The skin was raised and broken in some areas. His hands shook as he pressed against her ribs. He felt a few give way and Nia whimpered. _Broken._ He listened to her lungs. He heard the rumble of fluid as she breathed. _He waterboarded her._ He swallowed the bile rising in his throat and moved on.

Her left forearm looked broken. He could see the lump of displacement under the skin. _I’ll come back to that. I’ll come back to all of it._ He found the stab wound that was still oozing blood over her shoulder. It opened up into a laceration that he followed with his hands down her shoulder blade onto her back. He found another bite mark on her shoulder. For a moment, tears blinded him. He found a cut along the underside of her arm. He found a stab wound that went completely through her left forearm. Miraculously, it wasn’t bleeding too badly. When David put his hands on her hips, she stirred.

“David?”

“I’m here.”

“Am I dead?”

“No, Nia.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “No. You’re alive.”

“He told me you weren’t coming,” she whispered. “He told me…you…couldn’t find me.”

“No.” Tears were rolling down his cheeks.

“You came for me though.” She smiled and he saw blood staining her teeth. “You came.”

He couldn’t hold it back. He let out a sob. “Yes, Nia. I will _always_ come for you, _always._” He held her hand to his face and pressed it there.

Nia took a deep, rasping breath as the first wave of the morphine washed over her. Her body relaxed and her eyelids fluttered closed. He quickly got back to work, confident he wouldn’t be hurting her more.

He reached for the compression bandage on her leg. Her pants were soaked with blood from the seat all the way down her leg. _How long did he let this bleed before he bandaged it?_ He didn’t want to remove the compression bandage. _It might start bleeding again, and worse_. He pulled a pair of shears out of his pocket and cut both the legs up to the thigh. He found more welts and bruises. Her foot was dripping with blood and making a puddle on the floor.

He pulled the bag closer to him. He pulled out a fresh compression bandage and placed it over the one soaked with blood. He tightened it down until he was confident the bleeding had stopped. He moved to the stab wound in her shoulder. When he touched it, it began bleeding more heavily. He stuffed the wound with hemostatic gauze and wrapped it up. He bound the wound in her forearm. _That one has almost stopped bleeding entirely._ He pushed a small square of gauze into the wound on her foot and wrapped that, too. _I’ve stopped the bleeding but there’s so much more that she needs done…_

He started an IV in her arm. He carefully prepped the blood and started the transfusion. Content with that, he gently wrapped the torn skin around her wrists and eased her broken arm onto a SAM splint. He wrapped it tightly so it wouldn’t jostle. He covered her with a dry towel that was in the room, and the space blanket.

He got to his feet, trying to ignore the wound in his leg. He tried to look away from the room but he couldn’t help but notice the streaks of blood on the floor. The floor was wet. He quickly put that out of his mind. _I’ve got work to do._ He dragged Graylan’s body out of the room to the end of the hall. He heaved Carson’s body on top of him. He took both their sidearms and rifled through their pockets for anything they had on them. David counted his ammo. _28 rounds. That’s all I got._ He tucked the weapons away and placed his hand on the doorknob. _Time to go kill these motherfuckers. _


	17. Laced Drink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Here's what I want. I want your agency to be so busy, so distraught with trying to find you, that they don't stop to think about the fact that this plan doesn't make any sense. Why would I risk my resources to infiltrate your headquarters to place a sedative in your waterbottle? Why would I send men to your home to take you when you were too drugged to fight back?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick flashback for ya.

_As Nia pulled her car into the driveway, she felt a wave of dizziness. _Huh. Weird. _She put her car in park and got out to walk to the door. The ground tilted at an odd angle. She stumbled, nearly falling as nausea roiled in her stomach. _I’m getting sick. I just have a stomach bug and I’m sick. I just have to get inside._ She staggered to her front door and clumsily fit the key in the lock. It turned and she tripped into her house. _

I need some water. Or a ginger ale or something._ Wobbling, she made her way to the kitchen. _

_The hair on the back of her neck stood up. _God, I feel fucking awful. Maybe I should call someone._ She fumbled for her phone. _

_Someone grabbed her and a hand clamped over her mouth. She tried to scream. She felt a pinch on her arm and the ache of fluid going into her muscle. _No no no no no…

_She was dragged backwards, away from the knife she was reaching for on the counter. She flailed and tried to punch behind her. Her arms felt loose and weak. She strained to try to wrestle her way out of the arms of her attacker. She tried to scream. She bit at the hand covering her mouth. The man behind her let out a small yelp and smacked his hand to her face again, pinching her nose shut as he covered her mouth. _

_“We’re gonna stay right here until you fall asleep,” a voice rasped in her ear. “It’s good to see you, Nia.”_


	18. Hallucination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’re gonna stay right here until you fall asleep,” a voice rasped in her ear. “It’s good to see you, Nia.”

_Her head lolled to the side as they carried her to the car. They knew there was no chance of someone driving by and seeing them; they’d been watching the place for days. They opened the trunk of the car and dropped her into it. One of them smiled at the heavy thud her body made as she hit the bottom of the trunk. Her eyelids fluttered. _

Where am I?

_“Do you think we should restrain her?”_

_“She’s so far gone, I don’t think it should matter.”_

_“Graylan’s gonna be pissed if we show up with her like that. She’s been a pain in his ass. He’s gonna want her restrained in some way.”_

_“Fine. We’ll handcuff her at least.”_

_She felt strong hands on her as they pulled her arms back. She felt the cold steel snap around her wrists. _Holy shit, I am really sick. I’m hallucinating. I’ve got to have a fever or something.

_“Think we should gag her too?”_

_“Dude…you’re enjoying this way too much.”_

_“Hell yeah, I’m enjoying it. We just captured Nia Fucking Callum. She looks fucking good with handcuffs on.”_

_“You’re a sick fuck, Carson.”_

_“Yeah I know. But you know Graylan’s gonna do some fucked up shit to her.”_

_“…yeah, I know. But he just said to bring her in. None of this…whatever bullshit fantasy you’ve got going on right now.”_

_“Whatever. I’m gagging her.”_

_She felt something being pushed into her mouth and tied around the back of her head. _God, I’m going to throw up. I need to call David. I need someone to take me to the ER._ Her head spun and she gagged. _I’m hearing things. Graylan’s dead.

_“Fuuuuck man. You can’t tell that isn’t fucking hot. She’s kicked our asses so many times and look at her now. She’s fucking _ours_.”_

_“You’re fucked up, man. Come on. Let’s just go.”_

_“You’re a fucking prude. Fine. I’ll drive.”_

_The trunk slammed shut, putting Nia in total darkness. _Shit. I think I passed out. Shit… _She felt the car begin to move. _Jesus Christ, I feel so sick.


	19. Bleeding out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He got to his feet, trying to ignore the wound in his leg. He tried to look away from the room but he couldn’t help but notice the streaks of blood on the floor. The floor was wet. He quickly put that out of his mind. I’ve got work to do. He dragged Graylan’s body out of the room to the end of the hall. He heaved Carson’s body on top of him. He took both their sidearms and rifled through their pockets for anything they had on them. David counted his ammo. 28 rounds. That’s all I got. He tucked the weapons away and placed his hand on the doorknob. 
> 
> Time to go kill these motherfuckers.

David limped back to the house. His blood was hot with rage as he felt the cool mist on his face. _They’re dead and that has to be good enough._ The hate felt like poison in his veins, burning him with every heartbeat. _I killed them all and I have to get back to Nia._ He pulled open the door and walked inside, stepping over Graylan’s and Carson’s bodies. He wearily wiped his face with his hand.

He walked through the doorway to the room where Nia had been tortured. He felt like his heart stopped when he saw her. She was lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood.

“No no no _no no NO_!” David fell to his knees beside her. He shook her shoulder and she moaned. “Nia, Nia, no no no no…” He swept her body with his hands. _I stopped the bleeding. I stopped it. No no no…_ As he moved his hands down her hips and legs, one hand came away bloody. He noticed her pants were soaked in fresh blood. _What if I missed something._ He reached for her pants and began to pull them down around her hips.

Nia gasped sharply and reached for his hands. “No no no no,” she whimpered, “no, please, no…”

David froze. “I have to stop the bleeding, Nia, I don’t know where it’s coming from…”

She sobbed. “Please don’t, _please_, don’t do that.”

David suddenly began to feel very nauseated. “Nia…what…why can’t I do that?”

She took a shuddering breath. “They…they raped me…” Her chest began to heave with sobs.

David felt like he had been stabbed in the chest. “They…?” He didn’t want to ask it.

Nia sobbed. “They took turns raping me. They made me…give them names…they made me tell them…” She bit her tongue. _David doesn’t know about Operation Nightshade. He can’t know._

Tears were flowing freely down David’s face. “Nia…I…I’m so sorry…I…” He choked on a sob. “I need to check, though… I need to stop the bleeding…”

Nia crumpled back to the floor with a whimper, surrendering. She trembled as his hands moved to her hips and squeezed her eyes shut. He prodded the compression bandage and his hand came away soaked. _It’s the wound in her leg. That’s what’s bleeding like this._ He hated himself for the tiny wave of relief that passed over him. _At least it’s not –_

He froze at the sound of pounding on the outside door.

_I killed all six. It was six, that’s what Tom said._ His heart pounded in his chest as he looked around for options. He lunged to the door, closing it as quickly and silently as he could. He turned the lock on the handle. _Maybe the satellite missed one. The trees were pretty thick._

He returned to Nia’s side. “There’s someone coming,” he whispered. “I don’t think they’re friendly.” His eyes were dragged again to the puddle of blood on the floor. “But I…” He looked at Nia, his eyes desperate. “I need to stop the bleeding. You need a tourniquet.”

Nia closed her eyes and tears fell down her cheeks. “Ok.”

David dug through the bag and pulled out a tourniquet. He pulled her pants back over her hips and buttoned them. He slipped the tourniquet over her leg and pulled the end until it was tight. He looked at Nia. “Ready?”

Steeling herself, she nodded. He began to twist the windlass rod.

Immediately, Nia stiffened and gasped. She began to cry in earnest. David looked at her steadily and twisted it again. She writhed on the floor, trying to fight through the agony. David felt for a pulse in her foot. It was still there. The compression bandage still oozed blood. He held up one finger. _One more_. She nodded, her entire body quivering with strain.

He twisted it one more time.

She broke. She screamed in agony.

David clamped his hand over her mouth. She sobbed against his hand, tears pouring down her face. He released her and clipped down the windlass rod.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she whispered, chest heaving with sobs. “I can’t…I’m sorry…”

David heard careful footsteps coming down the hall. _The team would have come together. It’s not them._

A hand rattled the doorknob.


	20. Secret Injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David heard careful footsteps coming down the hall. The team would have come together.  
A hand rattled the doorknob.

David was afraid now. He knew he could take one person in a fight but if that person targeted Nia… He experimentally put weight on his leg. It nearly buckled. _Why does it hurt so much now? _He vaguely realized how much worse he had made the wound while killing Graylan’s men. _What if I can’t protect her?_

He grabbed his gun and limped to her. “I need to get you against the back wall.” She nodded weakly.

David lifted her under her arms and began to drag her away from the door. He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat when she cried out weakly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. She left a thick smear of blood on the floor.

He set her gently against the wall. He pressed his forehead against hers, just for a moment, before he turned and crouched in front of her.

There was a moment of silence.

The sound of a sharp intake of breath was the only warning they had before the man kicked through the door. David raised his gun and opened fire. His arm jerked. The shot went wide, but hit its target. It hit the man in the stomach, just below where his armored vest ended. He grunted and stumbled backwards.

David didn’t realize he had been shot until the gun was flying from his hand. It flew to the opposite corner of the room. Stunned, David waited for the pain to hit him. It did a moment later. _It’s just my arm._ The man stumbled back, one hand pressed against his belly.

Fueled with pain and desperation, he drew his knife in his left hand and held it in front of him. His leg buckled and he fell to one knee.

“Please,” he begged in a ragged voice. “Just leave her. Take me, I’ll do whatever you want. Just please don’t kill her. Please.”

The man took a shaky step towards David. His face was drawn with pain. He raised his weapon in a trembling hand.

_Bang._

The man crumpled to the floor. David blinked in shock and raised his eyes to the figure walking into the room. The man took off his helmet.

“Lexing.” David sank to his knees in relief. “Oh thank god.”

Lexing reached out a hand and pulled David up. He pulled him into a quick embrace. “Thank you, thank you,” David sobbed.

Lexing was stiff, looking over David’s shoulder. “Is she…”

David turned and went to her, putting a hand to her face. She stirred. He turned to Lexing. “No, she’s alive, but she’s shocky and she’s been in and out of consciousness. I was gonna hang another bag but he…” He cast his eyes to the dead man on the floor.

Two more people entered the room, all dressed out in tac gear. They took off their helmets. Both were members of their previous team.

“Tell us what you got, David.” Lexing’s voice sounded hard.

David spoke as he set up another bag of blood. He didn’t notice the blood running down his arm from his own wound. “Worst injury is a GSW to the right thigh. I’ve got a tourniquet on it and the bleeding has stopped. She’s got a few stab wounds to the right arm and shoulder. She’s been strangled, but I don’t know the internal damage. Her left arm is broken. She was waterboarded. She’s already had a bag of blood…” His voice was breaking. He struggled to continue. He stood, holding the blood above her. He stared at her with a horrified look on his face.

“That’s enough to start with,” Lexing said. The team moved in to lift her up. “We have the medic staged with our vehicles about a mile away. We were able to find an ATV road that comes pretty close to here. I imagine that’s how Graylan -” David flinched at the sound of his name. “We’ll have to carry her that far but once we rendezvous with the medic we’ll be able to drive the rest of the way out. The fog is too thick for the chopper to fly today.”

“Ok.” David’s eyes were glassy. The sight of Nia lying tortured at his feet was too much. He looked away as tears ran down his cheeks.

One of his team members, Andie, took the bag of blood from him. She had to pull it away from his fingers. “We got her.” She smiled reassuringly at him.

Lexing put his hand on David’s shoulder as they carried her from the room. She whimpered softly. David felt like he was being torn apart from the inside.

“Hey.” Lexing’s voice was low and soft. David turned his haunted eyes to him. “We got her. Ok? You got her out. She’s gonna be ok.”

“I couldn’t get to her…before…” David’s breaths started to come in short gasps. “I should have…I can’t believe…”

“I know.”

“No, god damn it, you _don’t_ know. When I got here, she…she asked me not to hurt her. God…she didn’t even recognize me. I pulled the handcuffs off her wrists and they were cutting into her…she screamed when I put pressure on her leg…” He gasped out a broken sob. “They raped her, Lexing. They raped her and I couldn’t stop them…”

He broke down and began to sob. He pressed his fists against his eyes, willing the images to leave his brain. The look of her pain when she thought she was going to die. The way her face broke when he tightened the tourniquet. The look of her body marked with bruises.

Lexing pulled David into his arms. David sobbed on his shoulder, his body convulsing with the shock. Lexing tightened his arms around David, his own tears falling onto David’s shoulder.

After a moment, David straightened and pulled out of the embrace. He swallowed hard and pressed his face against his shirt.

“Mission’s not done,” he said, taking a deep breath. “We still need to get her out.”

Lexing squeezed David’s shoulder. “Yeah. Let’s wrap that arm and move out.”

David grabbed a dressing and gauze from his med pack. Lexing helped him quickly wrap his arm. He couldn’t focus on the pain. Satisfied that he had stopped the bleeding, he packed up his med bag and picked his weapon up off the floor. His pants were stained from kneeling in Nia’s blood. The blood from the wound on his leg mixed with the blood on his pants until it was barely distinguishable. _I can’t tell anyone about that yet._ His mind swam. _The medic needs to focus on her. I can hike a mile, it’s not a big deal._ He straightened up and followed Lexing out.


	21. Stitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His pants were stained from kneeling in Nia’s blood. The blood from the wound on his leg mixed with the blood on his pants until it was barely distinguishable. -I can’t tell anyone about that yet.- His mind swam. -The medic needs to focus on her. I can hike a mile, it’s not a big deal.- He straightened up and followed Lexing out.

They lowered Nia as gently as they could to the rescue trailer hooked up to the ATV. David flinched as Nia moaned. “Careful, careful,” he whispered, mostly to himself. His leg was on fire. He pushed the pain down. He stroked her hair and she didn’t respond to his touch.

He felt a hand on his back. “What have you got, David?”

David turned and was relieved to see Rawlins. He swallowed hard. “Can’t we just…”

Rawlins shook his head. “You know we can’t just go. I need to know what I’m working with. I need to know where to start.” He pulled on his gloves. He looked calm, focused. In control. David felt so vulnerable under his gaze. _He’s going to help Nia._ Tears burned his eyes. _He’s going to take care of her._

He drew in a deep inhale and blew it out, his breath fogging in the beam of Rawlins’ headlamp. “Ok. GSW to the right thigh, bleeding controlled with a tourniquet. Multiple stab wounds to the right arm, controlled with hemostatic gauze. She was beaten, strangled…multiple times…she was…” David felt a roiling wave of nausea. Rawlins put a steadying hand on his shoulder. “She was…waterboarded, she was…” Rawlins began to sweep his hands along Nia’s body, feeling for the injuries David mentioned. “Oh, broken left arm.” Rawlins nodded and continued.

Rawlins stopped with his hands on her ribs. “They feel broken.”

David blinked. “That too. I’m sorry, I…” He couldn’t see through the tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to…” His breaths were coming in short gasps.

He tilted and nearly fell against Lexing. “Hey.” Lexing caught him and grasped his shoulders. “Hey. David.” He shook him gently.

David felt like giant hands were constricting his chest. He gasped and clutched at Lexing’s arms. “What…”

“You’re having a panic attack.” Lexing put his hands on both sides of his face. “You’re ok. Just breathe slowly, here, breathe in with me.” He drew air in slowly through his nose. David did his best to follow. “And out.” He pushed their air out between his lips. David tried, but he needed to breathe. He gasped.

As he turned towards Rawlins, he saw him continuing his assessment. His hands kneaded into Nia’s abdomen. Then they moved to her hips.

“_No_.” David lurched towards him. Rawlins paused and fixed David with a steady gaze. “No, she’s…please be careful, she’s been…”

His voice was clinical. “She was raped.” It didn’t sound like a question.

David gasped. “…yes…” A sob tore its way up David’s throat. He watched as Rawlins’ cool demeanor wavered for a moment. _He has to be that way right now. He has to take care of her._

“Ok.” Rawlins turned his eyes back to Nia and felt down her leg, inspecting the tourniquet and the wound.

“And her foot…” Something was clawing at David’s throat.

“Hey.” Rawlins held out a hand, signaling for David to stop. “Let me take care of this. I need you to pull yourself together right now.” He resumed his assessment.

“Come on.” Lexing pulled at David’s arm, leading him a few steps away from Nia. David threw a panicked look back at her. “Hey.” His frenzied eyes found Lexing. “He’s got her. Let’s just…focus on your breathing, ok? You need to be ok for her right now.”

David closed his eyes, sending two tears down his cheeks. _I’m failing her right now._ He swallowed hard and dragged in a long, slow breath.

“That’s it. There you go. In…” Lexing matched his breath to his. “…and out.” They both blew out a breath together. “Let’s do that a few more times. In…” The air was cold on David’s face. “Out.” He squeezed his trembling hands into fists. “In…” David drew in strength. _I have to be strong for her right now._ “Out.” He tried to exhale the broken feeling in his chest.

David swallowed hard. “I’m ok.”

“Yeah, you’re ok. She’s in good hands. She’s out, David. You got her out. She’s ok.” Lexing squeezed David’s arms.

Pain lanced through David’s leg as he shifted his feet. _I need to get this taken care of but…I can’t pull attention from her…_ “Lexing.” His voice was low. “I need you to help me with something.”

“Of course. What do you need?”

“I…got shot…in the leg…” Lexing’s eyes widened and flicked down. “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Can you…can you help me patch it up so Rawlins can focus on Nia…?”

Lexing’s face was pulled into a mask of concern. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

“We were ready to move. I didn’t -”

“I understand. Let me see.”

David pulled the leg of his pants up to the calf. The skin and fat were parted down to the muscle. David couldn’t see any deeper into the wound. It leaked blood into his sock and shoe. “It’s a graze.”

“A _bad_ graze. At least it’s sutureable. Let me grab a kit.” He turned and walked to the ATV.

“What’re you after?” Rawlins asked distractedly as he checked Nia’s bandages.

Casually, Lexing said, “just a suture kit for David. Patch him up real quick.”

David burned with shame as Rawlins turned to look at him. He could feel Rawlins’ eyes on his body, searching for an injury. After a moment, he turned back to Nia. “May as well do it over here, where there’s more light.”

David limped to the ATV and took a seat. He pulled up his pant leg and Lexing began to wipe the blood away from the wound. Pain stabbed through David. He looked at Nia, lying still and pale in the trailer. His pain suddenly seemed very far away.

David’s lips quivered. “Why is she still out, doc?” he whispered.

Rawlins cast a glance at David. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not seeing any signs of a head injury and her vitals are pretty good…” He leaned back, looking her up and down. “I think she might just be done for now. You know, I think she…” He moved closer to David and put a hand on his shoulder. “She might just be tapped out. She’s been through a lot. Her brain might have just decided to take a break for a while.” He squeezed David’s shoulder. “She’s ok. Just let her do what she needs to do. She’s strong, she’ll be alright.”

_She _is_ strong. She’s the strongest person I know. No one else would have survived this._ He felt Lexing pull the last stitch closed. It felt like it was happening to someone else. He cleared his throat. “So what’s the plan?”

His work finished for now, Rawlins tucked Nia under the space blanket again. “The ATVs will get us to the nearest road, where we have a car waiting. The car will take us to Franklin. There should be -” He checked his watch. “- if the fixed wing medevac isn’t there already it will be any minute. They were willing to fly in the fog. The plane will take Nia back to the airstrip near headquarters, and an ambulance crew will take her on to St. Anthony’s for surgery.” He paused as David drew in a quick breath. “I know, we should take her to the nearest trauma center. It’s a breach of protocol but we agreed it would be safer to get her to a hospital near the agency where she would have as much protection as possible. We have to assume Graylan had people in the agency. And we don’t know if they’re still going to want Nia dead.”

David swallowed. “You know they will.”

Rawlins took a deep breath. “Yeah, I do. We’ve got a long way to go before she’s safe. For now, let’s just focus on the next step.” David nodded. “The car is 12 miles away down this road. It’s going to be bumpy. Let me know if you need anything for pain.” He climbed onto the trailer and strapped himself in.

“Let’s move out.” Lexing climbed onto the ATV pulling the trailer and started it up. David settled in behind him. Andie and Cordova climbed onto their own ATV. Lexing pulled into the lead position and they began to move.


	22. Abandoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Let’s move out.” Lexing climbed onto the ATV pulling the trailer and started it up. David settled in behind him. Andie and Cordova climbed onto their own ATV. Lexing pulled into the lead position and they began to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I've been putting the warnings up like I should, but mention of rape in this chapter

_Graylan pulled his gun and pressed it up against Nia’s throat. “Time’s up. They didn’t deliver the ransom.”_

I knew you were going to kill me anyway. Please.

_He pressed it harder into her throat. “You have anything to say about that?”_

_Nia shook her head. _I’m just ready to die. Please, please just kill me. I can’t take any more.

_He grabbed her hair and forced her to look at him. His eyes were wild with cruelty. “I, for one, am sad about it. These 24 hours went by far too quickly.”_

I only want to die. I have nothing left to tell you. No more secrets.

_Her head was spinning, but she could still see Graylan’s smile clearly. His lips pulled back over his teeth. “Doesn’t it bother you that David abandoned you like this?”_

He didn’t abandon me. He just couldn’t find me.

_Like he could read her thoughts, Graylan said, “oh, he could find you alright. I lied earlier. The call was traceable. I gave David every opportunity to find you, come save you. But he didn’t.”_

_A tear ran down her face. _That’s a lie. David will always come for me.

_“He probably wrote you off as a lost cause as soon as he got that call. You’re never as useful to your agency, to _him_, when you’re hurt. And you’re not just hurt, you’re broken. Maybe they decided they were tired of covering your medical expenses and just decided to…” He mimicked a gun with his hand and pantomimed shooting her in the head. “…let me take you out. Maybe your usefulness to them has run out.”_

_She felt like every fiber of her being was on fire. Brokenly, she shook her head. “You’re wrong.” Her mouth was dry. _

_He shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong about your agency. I’m not wrong about David, though.”_

_She raised her eyes to his._

_“Oh come on, you must know. Surely you must know by now that he isn’t coming for you. If he was coming, he would have been here by now. Stopped me from doing all the things I did to you. But he’s not coming. Why would he? Sure, you’ve slept with him, you’ve saved his life a few times, but what does that mean? He operates better without you.”_

_She closed her eyes. _No, you’re wrong.

_He struck her across the face. “I’m _not wrong!_” he screamed at her. “Why would David come for you when you’re mine now? You’re ruined. He’s got to know that. Even if he doesn’t know what I’ve done to you…” His hand wrapped around her throat. “…he has to know what you’ve told me.”_

_Her throat swelled into a sob. “No…”_

_“Oh, yes.” Graylan’s voice dropped to a suggestive whisper. “He doesn’t even have to know how many times I’ve had you now to know you’re broken. You told me every secret he’s got. He knows you’re weak, he has to know you’ve betrayed him by now. You’ve given me everything. Everything I need to know to kill him. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him all about our talk before I finally pull the trigger. He’s going to die knowing you betrayed him. He’s going to know he died because you were too weak to hold on to his secrets.”_

_“N…no…” Nia’s chest ached with each sob. _

_“Everything you were is mine now. Your life is mine.” He squeezed her throat. Her sobs were choked off as she fought to breathe. She pulled back against his grasp but he only clutched her throat harder and pressed his gun under her chin. “Die knowing I broke you.”_

_He pulled the trigger. _


	23. Ransom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Everything you were is mine now. Your life is mine.” He squeezed her throat. Her sobs were choked off as she fought to breathe. She pulled back against his grasp but he only clutched her throat harder and pressed his gun under her chin. “Die knowing I broke you.”
> 
> He pulled the trigger.

The plane bounced along the turbulence. David jerked awake, casting his gaze around and looking for his weapon. _It’s just turbulence. We’re safe._ He fumbled for Nia’s hand. _She’s safe._

As soon as he looked at her, he could tell something was wrong. Her eyes darted under her eyelids and she writhed on the cot. A high whimper was coming from her throat. _She’s having a nightmare._ He reached for her shoulder and paused. _I don’t want to hurt her…_ Then Nia opened her mouth and let out a scream. Rawlins lurched forward in his seat, undoing his seatbelt and looking her over.

“Nia!” David shouted in her face as he shook her shoulders. “Wake up, Nia!” She woke with a ragged gasp. Her eyes darted around the small cabin, wild and unfocused. They settled on David’s face. Rawlins leaned back and refastened his seatbelt, content to let David comfort her. She burst into tears.

“David!” she sobbed. “David, he…he’s killing me, David…please…”

David pulled her into his arms. “You’re ok, Nia. It’s ok. I got you. You’re safe. Graylan’s dead.”

She took a shuddering gasp. “He’s dead?”

“Yeah.” David stroked her hair. “Yeah. He’s dead.”

She swallowed hard. “Did he make you give him the ransom for me?”

“No, honey.” He brushed the hair away from her face. “No, I came in and got you.”

Her eyes searched his face. Her lips quivered. “You came…you got me out?”

“Yes.” He touched his forehead against hers. “I got you out.” He cupped her cheek and held her face against his. “I got you. We’ve got you. We’re on the way to the hospital. You need surgery, you need…” His voice wavered.

She pulled away from him. “I…didn’t…you could have been killed.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “You could have been killed trying to get to me.”

He shook his head. “I don’t care. We had to get you out. We all had to. Smith, Tom, Rawlins, Andie, Cordova, Stevens, Wilson, Dr. Meyers, everybody.”

She looked at him imploringly. “You…all…?”

“Yes. Old team and new. We had to get you out.”

“Oh my god…” Her voice was shaking. “You all…oh my god…” She closed her eyes. Her body began to heave with sobs.

David pulled her face up so she had to look at him. “Nia, stop. Stop. You’re ok. You’re safe, it’s done.”

“But I…” Nia gasped for air. “I betrayed all of you. I told him…I told…” She couldn’t say his name. “Carson knows. The other man with Gray-” The word caught in her throat. “He knows names, he knows everyone on the team, he knows -”

“Shh, Nia. Stop. I killed him, too. I killed everyone in his detail.”

She swallowed hard. “You…what?”

His tone was dark. “I killed them. All of them. They’re all dead. But…” He stroked his thumb down her cheek. “I don’t…we don’t blame you for that. He t-” The word hitched in his throat. “He tortured you, Nia. None of us blame you for anything you said. You were…” He squeezed her hand in his. “You were so brave. We’re so proud of you, Nia.”

She gulped. “I’m sorry. I wish I…” Another sob broke from her chest. “I wish I had been able to hold on. I told him…so much. Everything. I told him everything, David. I told him…” She cast her eyes down in shame. “He made me tell him about us, he made me…”

David swallowed the bile rising in his throat. _He took that from her._ “It’s ok, Nia.” He massaged his thumb across her temple. “I don’t care that you told him anything. No one else could have survived that, love. All I care about is that I…” He pressed a kiss against her fingers. They were stained with blood. “I have you back. We have you back. Ok?”

Her eyelashes glittered with tears. She shook her head weakly. “I’m sorry…”

“Shh.” His thumb brushed a pattern on her cheek. “It’s ok. We’re gonna get you back to base, and get you patched up. We’re gonna be ok. We got you.” He pressed a kiss into her forehead.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Her throat tightened into a sob as her fingers dug weakly into his shirt. 


	24. Beaten

David rushed alongside the cot as the ambulance crew pushed Nia into the emergency room. “I got your full trauma here,” he heard the paramedic say to the charge nurse. They were ushered into a big room right inside the doors. _Full trauma. What does that mean?_ His mind spun uselessly. _How long has it been since I slept?_

He felt hands pushing him away from Nia. He lost his grip on her hand. He tried to rip himself out of the grasp of whoever was holding him back, whoever was keeping him from Nia. “David!” It was Rawlins’ voice. Rawlins’ hands. “Let them do their job. Come on, step back. Let them help her.” David allowed himself to be led away to stand just outside the door. He couldn’t take his eyes off Nia as the team of doctors and nurses descended on her.

He vaguely heard the paramedic’s report. _GSW. Trauma to the chest. Ronchorous lung sounds. Waterboarding._ _Severely beaten. Possible airway trauma. _Hands were pulling at Nia, pulling her clothes off. Checking her IVs. Hanging bags of fluid and blood. So many voices. The trauma surgeon was shouting out injuries as she found them. _Penetrating injuries to the lateral right upper arm. Crepitus on palpation of the ribs. GSW through-and-through to the lateral right thigh._

They began to cut her pants off around the tourniquet and she stirred again. David lunged forward into the room. “_Stop!_” he shouted over the noise. He felt Rawlins’ hands on his arm, trying to pull him back. He threw him off. Nia was beginning to sob. Her hands trembled as she reached for the waistline of her pants. “Please…” David pleaded. “Please, she’s…” He swallowed hard.

The doctor looked at Nia, at her weak attempts to cover herself, and nodded. “Get a blanket on her,” she ordered to the room at large. Someone produced a blanket and spread it over Nia. She turned to David. “I need to know _all_ of her injuries. What happened that the paramedic missed?”

David shook his head. “He didn’t miss it. I…” Tears burned his eyes. “She was raped. Repeatedly. Please don’t…please be careful with her…” To his frustration, a tear cascaded down his cheek. Then another. “Please be careful…” The doctor nodded and turned back to Nia.

“OR room 2 is ready. Let’s head upstairs.” Another flurry of motion. A tech pushed the bed out of the room and the team moved with it toward the elevators.

David followed alongside it. “Please,” he begged, reaching for Nia’s hand. “Please. Let me stay with her?” He looked at the doctor imploringly.

She took a measured breath. “No.” She nodded at David’s leg. “You need treatment yourself, and I can’t have you in my OR. I’ll send someone to come get you when she’s out.” She turned away and followed the bed into the elevator. David stopped just outside the doors and watched them close.

He fell to his knees and began to sob.

He felt a hand on his back, firm and comforting. Rawlins pulled David up by his arm and pulled him into an embrace. David clutched at Rawlins and sobbed into his shoulder. He didn’t register the people staring as they walked by. He didn’t register them staring at the blood on his pants, the blood covering the back of his head and staining his shirt down to the waistline.

Rawlins rubbed David’s back in rhythmic circles. “It’s ok,” he whispered. “You did it. You got her here.” David said nothing. His throat ached as each sob tore through it. He wept loudly into Rawlins’ shirt. The terror, the exhaustion, the agony of the past day all washed through him at once. _I don’t have to be strong for her right now._ He broke completely, drawing in shuddering gasps and wailing as Rawlins held him.

The sound of Rawlins’ voice soothed him a little. “I got you. It’s ok. She’s gonna be ok.” David coughed on his tears and began to cry more softly. “There you go. You’re ok.” David drew in a deep breath. His face was raw from crying.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to…I didn’t want…”

Rawlins nodded. “I know. It’s ok. Let’s get you looked at, huh?”

David remembered his leg. It seemed like such a faraway problem. “It’s fine. It’s nothing.”

Rawlins took David’s arm in a firm grip and gently guided him towards the nurse’s station. “You’re getting looked at.” He flagged down a nurse. “This is the second patient I called in for. Can we find a room for him?”

The nurse nodded. “Leg lac and GSW?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me find the charge. Give me just a sec.”

David wobbled on his feet. “Whoa.” Rawlins pulled David upright. “Hang on. Do you need to sit?”

David shook his head. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “I’m fine.”

Rawlins sighed. The nurse came back and motioned them forward. “We’ve got a room for you. Room 34.” She switched the lights on and lowered the bed. “Take a seat, a doctor will be with you in a minute.” She left.

David sunk onto the bed and let himself feel the exhaustion dragging at his limbs. He was tired in his bones. He felt scraped hollow. Rawlins took a seat in a chair and watched David steadily.

“Rawlins.” David’s voice was a whisper. “Have you ever…seen it that bad before?”

Rawlins paused before he answered. “If you’re asking me if I’ve had patients worse off than she is, yes. I absolutely have. But have I seen someone tortured that badly? Beaten and strangled that badly?” He held David’s gaze. “No one who lived.”

David swallowed and nodded. He lay back on the bed, easing his injured leg up. He trembled as the adrenaline left his body. He was asleep in minutes.


	25. Numb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more mentions of past rape and torture

Nia began to be more aware of the world. She noticed solid blocks of color moving in and out of her vision. She noticed the rumble of many voices, the high-pitched beeps, the overhead announcements. They all sounded tinny in her ears. She noticed her body. The feeling of the sheets beneath her, the hospital gown tied behind her, the blankets on top of her. She noticed the pain.

The pain brought her back. She gasped and it hurt. She moved her arm and it hurt. She turned her head and it hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the pain to go away. Her stomach roiled.

“Nia.” The word was a whisper. Somewhere far away, but right next to her. “Nia.” She recognized the name, recognized the voice. They were both very familiar.

She felt a squeeze on her hand. It was nice. It made her feel like she existed. Like she was real. She squeezed her hand back.

“Nia.” That voice again. She liked it. Her lips curled up a little. She blinked her eyes, trying to find the source of the voice. The world slowly came into focus.

“David.” The word was ragged. Her throat hurt. _I’ve been screaming._

David brushed the hair away from Nia’s face. “There she is.” His face broke into a painful smile.

“Where am I?” she croaked.

“You’re at St. Anthony’s.” He combed his fingers through her hair. “They finished the surgery a few hours ago. They said everything went really well.” He drew his thumb down her cheek. “You’re gonna be ok.”

She swallowed. “Is my leg ok?”

David nodded. “You’ll need a lot of PT but you’ll be able to walk.”

She looked down at her hand, still clasped in David’s. There was no blood on it. “Did they clean me up?”

“They gave you a sponge bath while you were out. There was…a lot of blood.” David swallowed back the bile that rose as he said it.

She noticed he was clean and in new clothes. “You got cleaned up too.”

“Yeah.” He began stroking her hair again.

They looked at each other, both seeming to feel the same thing. Hesitant to ask the question. Scared to hear the answer.

David broke the silence first. “How do you feel, Nia?” His forehead wrinkled in concern.

Nia was quiet for a moment. She felt the torture deep in her body still. She hurt everywhere, with every breath. Her lungs ached. Her throat burned. Her eyes felt swollen from crying. Her broken arm and stab wounds and gunshot wound throbbed with every heartbeat. _They fixed me up. I’m not going to die from this._

She reached deeper under the pain and felt…nothing.

Her voice was hollow. “I’m ok.”

David’s hand stopped moving through her hair. He paused, watching her carefully. “Ok.” He searched her face.

“I don’t…” She looked at her hands. “I don’t know how I feel. I hurt. But when I push that away it’s like there’s this…big ball of cotton in my mind. I push into it and I reach nothing. I know I should feel…relief, fear, disgust, terror, but I…I feel…numb. I feel nothing.” She looked at David. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” David said gently. “After what you’ve been through…everyone I talked to said they were surprised you were still alive. You’re probably still in shock, love.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” she whispered. Her eyes shone with tears. “I knew, I _knew_ that I was going to die in that room. And I…” The wounds in her arm were shot through with pain as she reached up to touch her neck. She thought she could feel the raised edge on her throat where Graylan had first strangled her. “…I wanted it. I wanted to die. I broke…so fast.” She felt a wave of shame. _At least I can still feel some things._ “I broke within 30 minutes. The rest was just…details.” She didn’t notice the tears running down her cheeks.

David shook his head. “Nia…”

She continued, her mind far away. “I didn’t just give him intel. I gave him…_everything_.” She looked at David. He looked horrified. _Horrified for me?_ “I told him your secrets. Your fears and weaknesses. There isn’t anything in my head that he didn’t take from me.” She gulped painfully.

“Nia…”

“It doesn’t matter that he’s dead.” Her voice gained in volume. “It doesn’t matter that you killed him. I still broke. I couldn’t hold on. I don’t know if he put my intel to use before he died. He left a few times while I was with him. He could have…” She felt a cavern opening in her chest. “Oh my god, I need to talk to Smith, I need to tell him -” Unthinking, she pushed herself up from the bed and cried out in pain.

“Nia, _stop._” David forced her back down with a gentle hand. “Smith is taking care of whatever you’re worried about. He told me to tell you that. But what…what are you talking about, Nia? What intel?”

She bit her tongue. “I can’t tell you,” she whispered.

David sat back in his chair. “…what do you mean you can’t tell me?”

Nia’s lips trembled. “I…I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said…I’m sorry…”

David frowned. “What are you sorry for? Nia…” Her breaths were coming in short gasps. “Shh, Nia…I won’t ask again, I’m sorry…” He sat on the bed next to her and took her hand again. “Ok. Is it something I just don’t have clearance to?”

She nodded.

“Ok. That’s fine, Nia. We don’t have to talk about it.” His thumb stroked her hand. “But breathe slower, love.” She dragged in a deep inhale, wincing as her broken ribs complained. “There you go.”

She held his gaze and asked, “how are you doing?”

David felt a chill wash over him. “I…Nia, we don’t have to talk about it…you need to heal and I don’t want to -”

“I want to know how you are,” she insisted. “Please.” Her eyes were pleading.

David drew a deep breath in through his nose. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

“…because you thought Carson was going to kill you?”

“No, love.” He shook his head and clasped both of Nia’s hands in his. “No. Because I thought Graylan was going to kill _you._ He was so close, love. Do you remember? He put a gun to your head.”

_Die knowing I broke you._ She couldn’t tell what was real and what was a dream. “I…think so. I heard him…” _Time’s up. They didn’t deliver the ransom._ “I can’t…” _Eh, 2:06. Close enough._

David cupped her face in his hands. “Nia, hey, Nia…” She fixed her eyes on him. “There you go. You’re here in the hospital room. You’re not there. He’s dead and he’s never going to hurt you again.”

“But he…” A tear rolled down her cheek. “He took so much from me. Do you think I’ll ever be in the field again?” She glanced at her leg. “Am I too…” _You’re not just hurt, you’re broken._ She shook her head, trying to clear it.

David pressed his lips together. “I…I don’t think so, Nia. I don’t think you’ll go into the field again.”

That broke the dam. Nia began to sob. “No…no…” She pressed her hand to her mouth, trying to quiet herself. David pulled her up into his arms. She cried out from the pain and sobbed harder. “No…he…he broke me…” _Maybe your usefulness to them has run out._ She groaned at the memory. _Or was it a dream? I don’t _know.

She couldn’t breathe. She dragged in air but it wasn’t enough. Something was tearing at her throat, choking off her air. She gagged at the sensation. Graylan’s hands were around her neck, choking her. She clawed at her throat. Every breath punched through her broken ribs and she sobbed.

Her arm burned where the IV was taped down. She reached for it to rip it out. Hands curled around her arms and stopped her, held her down. She screamed. She couldn’t breathe. _No no no no no no please no…_ She fought to throw off the hands, but it was no use. She was too weak. _You were too weak to hold on to his secrets._ She sobbed at the sound of his voice. _I can’t take any more. Please, I can’t._

Her mind began to grow fuzzy and disconnected. Her limbs felt too heavy to lift. She slumped back, chest heaving. Distantly she heard the sound of David crying.


	26. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some relatively graphic mentions of past rape

David rolled over on the pull-out couch in the hospital room. It was far from comfortable, and he still hadn’t slept in his own bed since Graylan called him three days ago. But he wasn’t leaving Nia’s side.

He opened his eyes. The room was dark, with lights from the hallway shining in through the window. The monitors taking Nia’s vitals were quiet. His eyes settled on her face and he realized her eyes were open, watching him too.

He smiled. “Hey love,” he whispered.

“Hey.” She smiled back.

“How’re you doing?” She weakly reached out a hand towards him. He got up off the couch and sat on the edge of the hospital bed. He stroked her face.

“I’m feeling ok. I wanted…” She painfully moved over on the bed. “I wanted you to…I want to…” She patted the bed with her hand. “Please.”

He pulled the blankets back and crawled into bed with her. The wires and IVs got in the way of him sweeping her up into his arms. She cuddled against him, her hand winding in his shirt.

He smoothed her hair away from her forehead and pressed a kiss there. She hummed with contentment. He pulled her head back so he could see her face. “What do you want from me right now?”

She searched his face. He looked calm. Open. _The David I love._ “I want…” She manipulated his arm around her so he was holding her, his hand pressed against her back. “I want you to hold me. Just please don’t…” Her lips trembled. “Please don’t touch me below the waist. I don’t want…” Her eyes began to fill with tears.

“Ok.” He pressed another kiss against her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut, sending the tears down her face and into the pillow. He wiped them away with his thumbs. He trailed his fingers lightly over her arm between the two stab wounds. He cupped her face and touched his forehead to hers. He breathed her in, here and alive. She breathed him in, too. He smelled like home in the middle of the hospital.

More tears began to roll down her cheeks as he held her. When she sniffled, David opened his eyes and looked at her. “What is it?” he asked gently.

Nia whimpered. “I don’t know how to recover from this.” David understood she wasn’t talking about her physical injuries. “My leg will…it’ll heal, I’ll walk on it. My ribs will heal. The bruises will go away and eventually I’ll just have a few scars. But…” Her chest heaved gently and tears ran down her face. “How do I…” David tightened his arms around her. “I hear his voice in my head. I hear him telling me I’m weak and that he’s going to kill me. I can’t…stop…” She shook her head. “He tortured me and I…even after I broke, long after I broke, he just kept asking questions, he waterboarded me until I thought I was drowning… He…beat me…with a nightstick.” David swallowed hard. “And his belt. He threatened me…” She screwed her eyes shut. “He whispered in my ear about how he was going to kill me, how I was going to die alone, how he…” She coughed, her chest rattling faintly with pneumonia. Her gaze was far away. “I can still smell him on me. Every now and then I’ll move and I’ll…smell him and for a moment I think he’s still hurting me…” Her chest heaved with a sob. “He raped me…so many times, David…” David’s tears began to soak into the pillow, too. “I thought I was going to die from it. He used me and fucked me again and again and again…” Her stomach heaved and she gagged at the memory. She shook her head and pressed her face into David’s chest. “And Carson, too. He wanted me and Graylan gave me to him…he held me down and…” She hiccoughed. “They just…took turns. One right after the other. I kept hoping they’d get bored or not be able to get it up or just…I kept hoping I would just die. They interrogated me that way…fucked me harder if I didn’t give them names.” David whimpered. Tears were pouring down his face. He tried to clear his throat. “He…hung me by the handcuffs on my wrists and fucked me against the wall. He didn’t even want information that time. He just…wanted…_me_… I begged him so many times to just let me die…” Her whole body shuddered. “But he…kept…hurting me…” Her eyes were glazed over.

_She’s reliving it right now._ “Nia.” David shook her shoulders. “Nia. Come back to me. You’re not there, you’re here with me. Nia.” He shook her harder. “_Nia._” Her eyes focused on his face. “There you go. You’re not there. It’s a memory. It’s not happening right now. Can you tell me something you feel right now?”

Her eyes were wide. “I feel him…fucking me…I feel him…”

“No.” David turned Nia’s head so she could see the hospital room. “Look at where you’re at right now. Where are you right now?”

Nia’s voice was shaking. “Hospital…”

“Tell me what you see.”

“I see…” She swallowed hard.

“Tell me five things you see.”

“I…” Her eyes were blurry with tears. “I see. The couch. I see. The window. I see.” She looked around. “The table. I see. The monitors. I see. The sign.”

“Good. Now four things you feel.”

“I…feel…” She ran her hand over the blankets. “This blanket. I feel...you.” She latched onto his shirt. “I feel…” She faltered and began to sob.

“What is it?”

“I feel him, still. I feel his hands on me, I feel the cuts, I feel the bruises. I feel him…torturing me.” She shook her head helplessly. “How do I stop feeling that?”

David took her hand, holding it between both of his. “I don’t know,” he whispered with finality. He pressed her palm against his chest. “I don’t know.”

She sobbed quietly. He held her as she trembled.

She whispered against his chest. “It was just…_misery_, David. I don’t understand…how he could hate me so much…how he could do that to me…” He stroked her hair. “There was nothing but pain. I felt so…_helpless_…” Rage burned in her throat. “If I wasn’t already injured maybe I could have…” Her hand curled into a fist.

Something occurred to David. “How did he capture you in the first place? You don’t…you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

She tried to think back. _More dreams._ “I think…I remember getting home and feeling really sick. I was gonna call you and ask you to take me to the ER. I think…” _It’s good to see you, Nia._ She swallowed hard. “Carson was…in my house…” Her hands started to shake. “Graylan said they put a sedative in my drink at work and waited for me to drive home and took me then…”

David paled. “He put something in your drink _at the agency?_”

It was becoming clearer. “Yes. I remember…” _Think we should gag her, too?_ She shuddered at the sound of Carson’s voice in her head. _Fuuuuck man. You can’t tell me that isn’t fucking hot._ “There was…” _You’re a sick fuck, Carson._ “…there were two. Carson and someone else.”

“Do you think you’d be able to pick him out of a lineup?”

Her forehead wrinkled. “Do you have suspects?”

David pressed his lips into a line. “No, but we ID’ed Graylan’s entire entourage. I could show you pictures of the dossiers.”

She swallowed and nodded. “Ok.” _I can do it._

“We’ll figure out how to keep you safe once you leave the hospital. Right now I just want to make sure you’re recovering well.” He pulled her closer to him. “I’ll have Tom send over a trauma counselor, catch this while it’s fresh. And we could...” He pressed his fingers into her back. “We could start you on meds. To take the edge off, help with the nightmares. We’ll get you through it, ok?”

She gazed up at him and nodded. “Ok.”

He wound his arms around her. “I love you, so much.”

She relaxed into his arms. “I love you, too.”


	27. Embrace

Nia wrapped her arm around David’s neck and let him help her off the bed. He eased her gently into the wheelchair waiting for her. “Ready to go?” David asked with a quiet smile.

She nodded, looking around the room in which she had spent the past 12 days. “Yup. Let’s get out of here.”

As David wheeled her out of the room and down the hallway, nurses called to her. “Good job Suzanne!” “Good luck, sweetheart!” None of them knew her real name. As far as they were concerned, she was a diplomat that had been taken hostage and tortured. One pulled her into a careful hug. “We are so proud of you. Thank you for what you do for this country.” She squeezed Nia’s hands. “Come back and see us when you’re all better.”

Nia blushed and smiled. “Thank you, Natalie. Thank you so much for everything.” Natalie patted her shoulder and let her go.

David wheeled her through the hospital, into the elevators, through the lobby. She watched the people as she passed them. Some old, some young, some grieving. _Everybody suffers._

As David rolled her out the front entrance, the sun blinded her. She put a hand up to shade her eyes. _How long has it been since I’ve been in the sun?_ She smiled at its warmth on her palm. David rolled her over to a car that was already waiting. Smith climbed out of the driver’s seat.

Nia’s eyes welled with tears at the sight of him. He jogged over to her and bent over to hug her, but she pulled herself up painfully, hanging onto Smith as pain shot through her leg.

Smith wrapped his arms around her and held her up. “Hey, Nia. How’s my favorite agent.” He winked at David playfully.

Nia began to sob as she clutched her mentor. He had visited her multiple times in the hospital, but this was different. She was _out._ She was going home, or at least somewhere that would serve as home for a while, until they _knew_ she was safe. She felt all her hurts in her body as she clung to him, quivering. _I gave Smith up just because Graylan beat me with a belt._ Her heart ached, being held by him as the feeling of the belt buckle cutting into her skin invaded her mind. She flinched.

He seemed to understand. He pulled back so he could see her face and eased her down into the wheelchair again. She gulped down her sobs. “Hey,” he said gently, kneeling in front of her and putting a hand to her face. “You held on for me, for David, for everyone. We are so proud of you.” His eyes filled with tears. Nia felt David’s hand on her back, tracing circles. She leaned into the touch. “I am so…grateful…” The tears spilled over. “…to work with an agent as brave as you. And I am so, so sorry this happened to you.” He took both her hands in his. “I am going to spend the rest of my career, my life, wiping his organization off the face of the planet.” His grip was hard. “We are going to protect you. You went above and beyond to protect -” He paused, seeming to remember that David couldn’t know. “This should never have been your burden. So don’t ever, ever apologize to me. Please. It should be me apologizing to you. Ok?”

She nodded unsteadily, wiping her face with her hands. “It just hurts. It feels like it always will.”

Smith nodded. “I know. We’ll be there for you through that, too. David and I. We’re going to keep you safe.”

She blinked tears out of her eyes. “Thank you.”

David knelt by her side. “Let’s get you into the car.” Nia let David lift her a little from the wheelchair as she placed her weight on her good leg. He pivoted her into the car and helped her load her legs in. He climbed into the seat behind her.

Smith walked around to the driver’s seat and started the car. As they pulled away, David slipped his arm up to the front seat and took Nia’s hand. She laced her fingers through his and squeezed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ends Whumptober 2019. Nia is far from done, she's got a lot of recovery to make still. But this ordeal, at least, is over.


End file.
